A former presidential spokesperson Dr Doyin Okupe in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today Friday said he is ‘standing in’ as vice presidential candidate of the Labour party.
If his candidacy holds, he will run alongside Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential elections.
However, Dr Okupe might be a placeholder to beat the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s deadline for the submission of the name of a vice presidential candidate.
The election umpire had announced today as the deadline for the submission of Presidential candidates for the 2023 general election.
“Choosing the vice presidential candidate is an electoral process and it does not stop until the process and schedule ends,” Dr Okupe said. “INEC allows you to present a candidate and later on, if you want to substitute, you may do so, if necessary. But if it’s not necessary, you may as well continue.
“So the present situation is that we believe that this Labour party government is essentially going to be about young Nigerians. Those of us who have been part and parcel of our sordid past must be prepared to pay the sacrifice, even the personal sacrifice, of allowing a situation where we can lift our youths to positions of power and authority.
“I am willing to put down my back, so that young people can stand and come to the top.”
