Breaking: Peter Obi's Ally, Doyin Okupe, Resigns From Labour Party, Gives Reason

Breaking: Peter Obi's Ally, Doyin Okupe, Resigns From Labour Party, Gives Reason

  • The campaign director of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Doyin Okupe, has dumped the party
  • Okupe, who did not reveal his next destination, made his resignation known in a letter addressed to the party's national chairman, Julius Abure
  • The politician and a strong ally of Peter Obi disclosed that it was a tough decision, but he needed to forge ahead with his political activities with sincerity and freedom

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Doyin Okupe, the former director-general of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Organisation, has resigned his membership in the party.

Peter Obi, Doyin Okupe, Labour Party, 2023 poll
Peter Obi’s campaign director, Doyin Okupe, has dumped the Labour Party. Photo credit: Mr. Peter Obi, @doyinokupe
Source: Facebook

Okupe announced his resignation from the LP in a letter made available to newsmen on Monday, January 8.

As reported by Vanguard, Okupe explained that his lifelong alignment with right-wing and liberal democratic principles clashed with Labour's left-of-centre ideology, making his continued membership difficult.

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Okupe said he has been a rightist and a liberal democrat his entire life, The Guardian report added. He noted that they contested the election on the Labour Party platform and lost.

The letter reads:

“I submit herewith my letter of resignation from the Labour Party with effect from today. You will recall that our flagbearer, Mr Peter Obi, myself and others left the PDP abruptly and had to look for a Special Purpose Vehicle in which to contest the 2023 Presidential Elections.
“The Labour Party, your good self, and other members of your executives provided us with this veritable platform with no burdensomeness whatsoever and for which we were extremely grateful.
“We did contest the election on the platform of the Labour Party and lost. This makes it exceedingly difficult for me to continue to stay in the Labour Party which is ideologically rooted in the left of the center.”

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Coup D’état: Okupe backs Tinubu-led ECOWAS

In another development, Legit.ng reported that Doyin Okupe reacted to the military takeover of Niger Republic led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had issued a seven-day deadline to General Tchiani to surrender power to Bazoum.

EFCC releases Okupe, apologises to Labour Party chieftain

Meanwhile, Doyin Okupe, a strong ally of Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential flagbearer, confirmed that he was detained on Thursday morning, December 12, 2022.

The Labour Party disclosed that he was later released, and senior officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos had apologised to Okupe for the "error".

The southwest politician disclosed the development on his Twitter page shortly after the news of his arrest by the Department of State Service took over the media.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Esther Odili avatar

Esther Odili (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Esther Odili is a journalist and a Politics/Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng with 6+ years of experience. She Holds OND and HND in Mass Communication from the Nigerian Institue of Journalism (NIJ), where she was recognized as the best student in print journalism in 2018. Before joining Legit.ng, Esther has worked with other reputable media houses, such as the New Telegraph newspaper and Galaxy Television. In 2024, Esther obtained a certificate in advanced digital reporting from the Google News Initiative. Email: esther.odili@corp.legit.ng.