The Director-General of the Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr Doyin Okupe, has announced his withdrawal as the running mate to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi.
Okupe made the announcement in a post on his facebook page on Thursday afternoon.
He wrote: “This afternoon I submitted my withdrawal letter from the position of the Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party to INEC.A replacement will be announced by the national chairman of the party shortly.I feel greatly blessed to have been part of the foundation of success for the Labour Party.”
The LP had planned an alliance with the NNPP, with Obi and the latter’s presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, being on the same ticket.
Speaking on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television, Okupe, on Tuesday night, disclosed that the negotiation became deadlocked when the LP side queried the emergence of another Muslim northerner succeeding the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), a Muslim from the North.
On the reported consideration of Senator Ditti Baba-Ahmed as vice-presidential candidate of the LP, Okupe said, “He is being considered, others are being considered. These things will be decided this week. He is being considered along with other people whom we have engaged and we have talked with.
“The emphasis here is this, we are looking for a young, vibrant politician of northern extraction with a measure of intellect, sound background, pedigree and education. That is what we are looking at.”
On the alliance between LP and NNPP, with the rating of Kwankwaso as senior to Obi to be the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, respectively, Okupe asked how seniority is measured in politics.
Okupe also took a swipe at Kwankwaso for claiming that northern electorate would not vote for presidential candidate from the South-East.
