Kenneth Okonkwo, a prominent figure within the Labour Party (LP), has asserted that Doyin Okupe, a former member of the party, had actually departed in 2022, well before his formal resignation on January 8, 2024.
Okupe’s initial resignation occurred in December 2022 when he stepped down as the Director General of the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign, following a court’s verdict on money laundering charges.
This week marked Okupe’s official departure from the Labour Party, where he cited ideological differences as the primary reason for his resignation. However, Okonkwo, in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily program, claimed that Okupe’s departure coincided with his resignation from Obi’s campaign.
The former spokesperson for Obi’s 2023 campaign expressed his lack of awareness regarding Okupe’s engagement with the party post his December 2022 resignation. He emphasized that had the party emerged victorious in the election, Okupe might not have highlighted any “ideological differences.”
During the interview, the Nollywood star pondered on the clarity of political ideologies within Nigerian parties. Okonkwo also pointed out Okupe’s political affiliations, noting that the latter had been involved with various parties in the country. He suggested that, at his age, Okupe should be contemplating spending time with his grandchildren instead of shifting political allegiances.
In Okonkwo’s words, “Immediately, he (Okupe) stepped down as the DG, I can say with every degree of responsibility that he constructively had left the party because I wasn’t aware of any other interaction he had with the party. I think he just verbalized it.”
