Defections from LP won’t stop, Obi may dump party, says Okupe 

• Denies ever criticising Tinubu
• You’re not qualified to speak on Obi’s political destination, LP boss fires back 

Former Director-General of Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr Doyin Okupe, has said the party’s inability to build an enduring structure after the 2023 elections is responsible for the gale of defections from the party.

He added that even the party’s presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, might also ditch the party.

The erstwhile LP chieftain, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Lagos, yesterday, also said he never criticised President Bola Tinubu.

But LP Chairman in Oyo State, Tunji Sadiq, berated Okupe for saying Obi may dump the party.

NAN reports that six LP lawmakers recently dumped the party on the floor of the House of Representatives for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The defected lawmakers include Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Matthew (Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Cross River) and EsosaIyawe (Edo).

Also, recently, many ordinary members of LP have reportedly left the party for the APC and PDP.

Okupe noted that the mass defections from LP were expected, as elected members would not stay in a party where the future is not sure.

The former LP chieftain said those leaving the party knew they had to move for political relevance and survival.

He said, “The Labour Party was one of those common parties that existed mainly for those who could not get tickets in the major parties to come and find expression. That is how we also got there. Our presence in LP then boosted its fortune.

“But what was important, and which was essentially neglected by the leadership of LP and the presidential candidate was political structure. So those in the National Assembly (on LP platform) know that they are on their last card. So, that is why you are seeing all this gale of deflections, and it’s not going to stop.”

REACTING to a recent report which placed him on the list of politicians who fiercely criticised Tinubu in the past and now suddenly become his staunch supporters, Okupe said there was no record anywhere in his political career where he ever criticised Tinubu.

The report, seen by NAN, also placed Presidential Spokesman, Daniel Bwala; former Presidential Spokesman, Reno Omokri; and former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode on the list of critics-turned-supporters of Tinubu.

Okupe stated, “Go and check my time in LP and PDP. I have never in my life criticised Tinubu, though we have never been under the same political umbrella.

“A good man does not spoil another good person. We had a serious, not-so-visible bond during the NADECO (National Democratic Coalition). He was abroad. We were here in Nigeria coordinating. When we were in the trenches together under severe pressure from the government, it gave a bond that even political partisanship cannot give.”

Okupe said he had always maintained the position that if Tinubu was elected he was going to do well, adding, however, that as a patriotic politician, he heeded the advice of some Yoruba elders to forgo his ambition in the 2023 general elections and support someone from the South East in the interest of unity.

He said since the candidate he worked for did not win, he had no reason not to support the President to succeed.

Hinting at the possibility of Obi leaving the party, Okupe pointed to the former governor’s recent meeting with opposition leaders, including Atiku Abubakar in Adamawa, as a sign of open-ended options.

Sadiq said Okupe was not qualified to speak on Obi’s political destination.

The LP chairman said: “The last time I checked, Okupe is not a member of our party. He has left the party and therefore cannot speak for Obi. He is not qualified to speak on the political decision of Obi.”