- Okupe: Peter Obi Betrayed Atiku
- Osun Labour Party Chair, Adebayo: Obi didn’t Batray, Okupe is Spewing Lies
By Afolabi Samuel Odunayo
The Chairman of the Osun State Chapter of the Labour Party, Bello Adebayo and former Director-General of the Labour Party’s presidential campaign organization in the 2023 election, Dr Doyin Okupe are locked in a heated battle of words over the circumstances surrounding the 2023 general elections.
The trouble began when Okupe, in a viral video, claimed that the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, betrayed his former boss, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, by contesting for the presidential seat in the 2023 General election.
Okupe accused Obi, a former Anambra Governor of turning against Atiku during the last presidential election.
According to Okupe, the former vice-president never deserved to be so betrayed because he was the man who brought Obi into national politics.
The former DG of the Obi-Datti presidential campaign also explained that he withdrew his support for Obi because he was no longer interested in working with him.
Okupe said: “Obi was the vice-presidential candidate of Atiku Abubakar in 2019. He brought him to the national limelight. Because of his ambition, which was correct and due, Obi left the party and contested against Atiku. If people said I betrayed Obi, what did Obi do to Atiku? It is not fair.”
He also emphasized that his long political career began in 1978, long before Obi entered the political scene.
“My life and political destiny cannot be tied to Obi’s ambition. I wish Obi well, but I am done with him. We wanted to achieve something, but we couldn’t achieve it,” Okupe recounted.
However, in a swift response, the Osun Labour Party Chairman denied allegations of betrayal levelled against the 2023 presidential candidate of his party.
Adebayo said Obi didn’t betray Atiku as he did contest for the presidential ticket under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Chairman wondered why Okupe as a respectable man was spreading false narratives against Obi.
Adebayo said: “Obi didn’t betray anybody; it is not correct to say he betrayed Atiku because he didn’t contest the PDP presidential ticket with him in PDP.”
