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A former Labour Party campaigner, Doyin Okupe said having watched both the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi at close quarters, he has concluded that President Bola Tinubu was the best presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
Running on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, Tinubu shrugged off competition from Atiku and Obi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party, respectively, to win the hotly contested February 25, 2023 poll.
He amassed over eight million votes while leaving the PDP and Labour Party candidates in second and third places with over six million votes apiece.
Okupe had acted as Obi's campaign director in the early stages of the campaigns but later resigned from the position following his conviction in a money laundering case.
Speaking on Tinubu's performance after one year in office on Channels Television's Politics Today on Friday, June 7, 2024, the politician said he later realised that none of the presidential candidates could match Tinubu in terms of capacity.
“Let me tell you, of all the people that actually ran for President in 2023, by the benefit of hindsight, Bola Tinubu is the best,” Okupe said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.
“I have seen Peter Obi, I have been with Atiku Abubakar, I also knew Bola Tinubu many years ago. I have not seen him in the last 7 to 8 years, that is not the point but he is the best in terms of capability, commitment and knowledge,” he said.
Okupe also argued that Nigerians can't use the same measuring rod to gauge Tinubu's administration like they judged other preceding governments because he came to power after an eight-year rot.
He expressed belief that the current administration will come good if Nigerians will give the President more time to implement his programmes.
Okupe denies betraying Obi
When asked if his defence of Tinubu's administration amounts to betraying Obi, Okupe answered in the negative.
According to the politician, his support for the Labour Party candidate was purely out of a mutual they both had that power should return to the southern part of the country, the same agitation that led to their exit from the PDP.