Former Labor Party (LP) presidential campaign manager Doyin Okupe has hailed President Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s best-prepared leader since independence in 1960.
In an interview with Vanguard, Mr. Okupe dismissed critics who questioned his support for Mr. Tinubu, insisting that his position was rooted in principle rather than personal interest.
“I said those who look at what I am doing to Bola Tinubu today and think it is for personal gain are just young people who do not know. I don’t know the history. They don’t know my heritage. I’m a guy who stands up for what I think is fair and just, even if it’s to my detriment,” he said. Ta.
Mr. Okupe spoke of his long acquaintance with Mr. Tinubu dating back to their days at NADECO, highlighting their shared history despite being on opposite sides politically.
“I met President Tinubu about a week ago. I hadn’t seen him for seven or eight years. I never spoke to him on the phone. He didn’t speak to me. .
“But he is someone I know well politically. Although we have never been on the same side in politics before, we have always shared a relationship since our NADECO days.
“From that time until he was governor and he left the governorship, I had the opportunity to sit with Bola Tinubu for hours on end. He impressed me as a person who can use development ideology and policy. That’s a gift.
He likened Tinubu’s leadership qualities to those of the late Obafemi Awolowo, describing both as reformers who focused on public welfare.
Okupe dismissed claims that Tinubu took office haphazardly as “nonsense”, insisting that no president is better prepared to govern than Nigeria’s president.
“The last time there was someone close to him (Tinubu) was Awolowo (Obafemi). Awolowo was a very serious politician, but he had ideas for public policy that benefited the masses. is today’s Bola Tinubu.
“Bola Tinubu, you know, Villa has a president who is a reformer, a reformer. Bola Tinubu came to office with no plan, no clue, that’s Balderdash, that’s nonsense I’ve heard some people say that.
“I have worked with two presidents in the past. I have studied other presidents very close and closely. From 1960 to the present, there has never been a Nigeria better prepared for governance than this gentleman. I don’t know the president,” Okupe concluded.
