Former Director-General of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign, Doyin Okupe, has hit back at allegations of betrayal from Peter Obi’s ardent supporters, popularly known as Obidients. Okupe dropped a bombshell in a recent interview, asserting that it was, in fact, Obi who betrayed Atiku Abubakar after abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his role as Atiku’s running mate in the 2019 presidential election.
Okupe detailed his role in convincing Obi to defect from the PDP and pursue his presidential ambitions with the Labour Party, following a pivotal discussion with elder statesman Pa Ayo Adebanjo in 2022. However, Okupe made the startling confession that the Labour Party’s prospects of winning the 2023 presidential election were slim to none due to its inability to garner widespread national.
Okupe further admitted that the Labour Party engaged in election rigging during the highly-contested 2023 polls, despite ultimately failing to secure victory.
Responding to the allegations of betraying Obi, Okupe said:
“Atiku brought Peter Obi into national politics and he went ahead to betray him due to his personal interests. What joined Peter Obi and I was to stop another Northern candidate from replacing Buhari.
“I have been around since 1978, my political journey is not tied to Peter Obi and I can say my truth,” he quipped.
Going further, he said:
“We didn’t have the structure to win a national election, neither did we have agents in about 80% of the polling unit, how can we win an election that way, Tinubu clearly won the 2023 Elections, every party rigged including Labour Party
“Our initial ambition and main reason for leaving the PDP was for a Southerner and Tinubu has won and I’m very happy.
“Talking about betrayal, I didn’t betray Peter Obi, it is Peter Obi who betrayed Atiku Abubakar who was his master”, he said.
