Okupe’s Honourable Path

By resigning honourably instead of clinging to power to exhaust all the legal options available to him, the convicted former Director General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr. Doyin Okupe has portrayed his party and indeed Nigeria, in a good light, Ejiofor Alike reports

The effort of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi to occupy the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja next year received a major blow on Monday when a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja convicted the Director General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (LPPCO), Dr. Doyin Okupe of money laundering. 

Okupe was convicted of breaching the Money Laundering Act and subsequently sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

He was found guilty in 26 out of the 59 counts preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The court had ordered that the 26 counts, which attracted two-year jail-term each, would run concurrently, meaning, Okupe would only spend two years in prison.

However, the presiding judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, gave an option of N500,000 fine on each of the 26 count charges, totalling N13 million.

The former Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday evening, paid the N13 million for the 52-year jail term he bagged for laundering N240 million.

Though he paid the N13 million before the 4.30pm deadline and escaped the prison sentence, he has become an ex-convict and unfit to hold public office.

The question that came to the minds of supporters of LP was: Will Obi allow an ex-convict to lead his campaign?

Okupe’s conviction was not the first time he ran into troubled waters as the director general of the LPPCO.The LP in Ogun State had earlier this month expelled him from the party over alleged non-financial membership status, high-handedness and financial recklessness.

But the national secretariat of the party swiftly nullified the purported suspension and also declared the suspension of 10 other party members by the State Executive Committee null, void and of no effect.

Though the national secretariat of the party stood by him during his face-off with his state chapter of the party, many believed the reputation of the party would be destroyed if it also allowed him to remain the face of the presidential campaign.

Shortly after his conviction, he took to his Twitter account to attribute his travail to the handiwork of his enemies.

He tweeted, “God is not man. The enemies have tried in so many ways but keep failing…Victory is of God.”

Many political analysts viewed his message as a strong indication that he wanted to cling to power as the director general of LPPCO. Most Nigerian politicians and public office holders always blame their real and imaginary enemies whenever the law catches up with them and Okupe’s initial reaction raised the suspicion that he would toe the same path.

On his part, Obi had declared that the witch-hunting of persons in his campaign team could not break his resolve to be Nigeria’s president.

Reacting to the court judgment during his visit to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Obi said: “I am hearing about it (the conviction) just like you. I am still studying what is coming out of the courts and everything. I believe in the rule of law. It is not going to demoralise me.

“When I arrived Akwa Ibom somebody asked me why I haven’t been using my aircraft, because it has been grounded and all that and I said to him that nothing demoralises me.

“In my life I have never stayed where they dropped me otherwise I would have been where they dropped me before. This election if they like let them say anything about people who are around me, I will get there”.

But in a swift reaction, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council on Tuesday demanded the immediate resignation of Okupe from the campaign team of Obi.

Director of Media and Publicity for Tinubu-Shettima Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, mocked Okupe, stressing that he did not deserve to continue occupying his office as DG of Obi’s campaign.

Onanuga told a national daily that the only option open for Okupe was for him to bow out of the campaign honourably.

 “Okupe should resign from his post as DG of Obi’s Campaign. He should do so honorably. The court has spoken. He should no longer be involved in the campaign,” he added.

Okupe however shamed his critics when he toed the honourable path and resigned his appointment from Obi’s campaign.

Okupe, in a letter addressed to Obi, requested the appointment of a new DG to continue from where he stopped.

The letter read: “Dear Peter, You will recall that I briefed you yesterday about my personal travails in seeking justice and clearing my name using the Nigerian Legal System to pursue same. I have invested too much in your campaign to allow my personal travails to become a source of distraction.

“In the circumstances, I have opted to step aside and plead that you appoint a new Campaign DG, who can continue the assignment with zero distractions. God bless you and your family,” the letter stated.

Reacting to Okupe’s decision, Obi lauded his support and tenacity that led to the country-wide acceptance of the party and its candidates.

“My Dear Elder Brother Doyin, I received your letter offering to step aside in order to avoid any distraction to the good work of trying to forge a new direction for our country, on board of which you have been from inception. It is a decision which I respect.

“The story of this historic effort, which has galvanised millions of our countrymen, particularly our youths, cannot be complete without mentioning your commitment, dedication, and the boundless energy that you brought to bear.

“It is my sincere hope that our legal system will afford you an opportunity to eventually clear your name,” Obi wrote in a letter to Okupe on Wednesday.

In his reaction, the spokesperson of the campaign council, Yunusa Tanko, expressed the confidence that Okupe’s resignation would not affect the party, saying the party was not structured on the shoulder of one person.

“Labour Party has millions of soldiers, who can take the baton from where Okupe stopped. It is a national organic movement that no one can stop,” he told THISDAY.

Tanko said Okupe was a reputable democrat who had paid his dues.

He said Okupe would continue to earn the respect of many Nigerians, who appreciated his contributions in the democratic development of the country.

Also reacting, the party in Lagos State on Wednesday said that the resignation of Okupe had projected Nigeria positively to the world.

LP Publicity Secretary in the state, Mrs. Olubunmi Odesanya, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Okupe had raised the bar and the standard for others to follow.

Odesanya added that Okupe’s decision remained honourable to clear his name through the nation’s legal system.

“We are standing by him (Okupe). This is a great and noble step taken by our leader, Doyin Okupe.

“He (Okupe) is projecting Nigeria in a positive light to the world. We are proud of him,” the LP spokesperson said. Okupe still has other legal options to prove his innocence but he toed the honourable path without exhausting these options