Why I can’t support Peter Obi again – Doyin Okupe

Doyin Okupe, the former director-general of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign in 2023, has stated that he “cannot support” Peter Obi again.

Okupe made this declaration during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today with Seun Okinbaloye on Monday.

His comments come in response to a viral clip featuring Obi, in which he discussed the challenging economic conditions facing people in the South-West region, despite President Bola Tinubu hailing from the area.

Okupe’s remarks reflect a significant shift in his stance towards Obi, signaling potential fractures within the Labour Party’s ranks as the political landscape continues to evolve.

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“Let us talk about what is happening today. Rice is about N100,000. We are not even sure where we are going to be. ‘It’s our turn’, ‘he is a Yoruba man’ — ask the people in Ogun, here is there any place you people buy bread cheaper?” Obi said in the viral clip.

The video generated mixed reactions on social media, with some supporting Obi’s comments while others criticised him.

Adding his voice to the criticism, Okupe described the former LP presidential candidate’s remark as an “insult” to people in the south-west.

He said Obi’s statement publicly brought down south-west people even though “eminent Yoruba people” supported him during his presidential bid in 2023.

“When Obi made that statement, it insulted us. I am a Yoruba man; I left everything and followed Obi.

“For the first time, Obasanjo left his circle of influence and deviated to support Obi,” Okupe said.

“I do not regret supporting Peter Obi. But now I cannot do it again. The reason why I did it was because we agreed that a southern president must emerge.

“I was approached that if a southern president must emerge, which zone must it come to? I said the south-east.

“If all these eminent Yoruba people supported you, why now bring us down publicly? It is wrong.”

(TheCable)