Doyin Okupe, a chieftain of the Labour Party, has withdrawn as the running mate of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).
In a tweet on Thursday, Okupe said a letter of his withdrawal has been sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Recall that on June 17, Okupe was named as the running mate of Peter Obi for the 2023 election.
This, however, was to beat the deadline given by INEC for parties to submit the name of their vice-presidential candidates.
Announcing his withdrawal on Twitter, Okupe said a replacement will be announced by the party’s national chairman soon.
“This afternoon, I submitted my withdrawal letter from the position of the Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party to INEC,” he wrote. “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.”
Okupe’s withdrawal will not come as a surprise to many. In announcing his emergence as a vice presidential candidate of the party last month, Okupe had made it clear that he was only “standing in” as the LP vice-presidential candidate to enable the party to form the “largest political coalition” to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“We need to be able to put together this coalition and the so-called third force is now alive, and it is forming, and it is important for us to ensure that all the stakeholders are carried along from the beginning to the end,” he had said.
“So, because of this, I, Dr. Doyin Okupe, am standing in as the vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party.”
