Former director-general of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign in 2023, Doyin Okupe, has said he “cannot support” Peter Obi again.
He made this comment on Monday during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Okupe said this in reaction to a viral clip of Obi commenting on how Nigeria’s economic situation provides little succour to people in the south-west despite President Bola Tinubu being from the region.
“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 sparked mixed reactions on social media, with some supporting Obi’s comments while others slammed him.
Okupe, joining the critics, labelled the former LP presidential candidate’s comment as an “insult” to people in the south-west.
He added that Obi’s remark 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.”