Former presidential aide Doyin Okupe has praised President Bola Tinubu as the best candidate among those who contested the 2023 presidential election.
Tinubu won the election, with Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party coming in second and third, respectively.
Okupe, who initially served as Peter Obi’s campaign director, stated that hindsight has shown him that Tinubu is the best person for the job.
“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.”
Okupe stated that Nigerians should not judge the Tinubu administration in the same way they judged previous ones, as Tinubu assumed office after an eight-year period that seemed to lack effective governance.
Emphasizing that one year is too short to evaluate the current administration, Okupe urged Nigerians to give Tinubu more time, expressing confidence that he will perform well.
When asked if his praise for Tinubu was a betrayal of Peter Obi, whom he campaigned for, Okupe disagreed.
He explained that his support for Obi was based on their shared belief that a Southerner should be president, which led to their departure from the PDP.
Okupe campaigned nationwide with Obi ahead of the PDP primary. When their efforts did not succeed in the PDP, they joined the Labour Party, where Okupe became the director-general of Obi’s campaign.
Okupe later resigned from his position following a Federal High Court judgement in Abuja that found him guilty of receiving over N200 million in cash from former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki.
In his resignation letter, Okupe stated that it was better not to let his personal issues distract Obi’s campaign and the party, thus he decided to step aside.
In January, he also resigned from the Labour Party, citing ideological differences.