The Labour Party has expressed deep sorrow over the loss of its former Director-General of the LP Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 election, Dr Doyin Okupe, saying he would be sorely missed.
Okupe died in the early hours of Friday in Lagos at the age of 72 after battling a protracted illness.
In a condolence message issued in Abuja, the National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, described Okupe as a great personality.
Abure recalled how the late Ogun State elder statesman initially acted as a placeholder for the party’s vice presidential nomination before ‘honourably’ relinquishing it with the knowledge that such a position would be allotted to the North.
He said, “Before joining Labour Party in 2022, Okupe had played key roles in Nigerian politics, having served as the National Publicity Secretary of the National Republican Convention. However, his active participation in LP’s push for the 2023 presidency clearly revealed his charisma and statesmanship.
“Although he resigned his membership of the party last year based on principles, his fraternity with the party didn’t cease, neither did he stop giving us invaluable advice. We cherished his short but impactful association with the party leadership great virtues we will be missing in him.
“Certainly, Nigeria has lost an astute politician whose desire for a great nation was unquestionable. We believe that though he still has so much to offer this nation, death has brutally forced him to write the last chapter of his life.”