The Director-General of the Labour Party’s Presidential Campaign Council, Doyin Okupe, has resigned from his role.
His resignation is connected to his recent conviction by a Federal High Court in Abuja over money laundering violations.
Okupe disclosed this in a letter addressed to the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Tuesday evening, and can be seen on his official Twitter account.
- He said in a statement, “It’s time to step aside. But I am with PO and the Obidients and the Presidential Campaigns till God gives us victory in Jesus’ Name.”
The details of the Letter:
- ” 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 the 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”.
What you should know
- A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja convicted the Director-general of the Labour Party’s Presidential Campaign Council, Doyin Okupe, for violating the Money Laundering Act.
- Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu stated Okupe was guilty in 26 out of the 59 counts against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the money laundering offence, citing that the 26 counts, attracted a two-year jail term each and would run concurrently.
- Okupe was given an option of N500, 000 in each of the counts, amounting to N13 million, which must be paid before 4:30 pm Monday.
- Doyin Okupe paid the sum before 6 pm according to court reports.
Although his crime cannot be excused, but he did the honourable thing to resign from the party campaign leadership. If only other Nigerian politicians can learn from him by resigning from their positions when indicted on corruption charges, instead of holding onto the immunity clause or sponsoring false propaganda to hoax the masses, Nigeria would have been far ahead of its peers in most indices of development.