July 07, (THEWILL) – Former presidential spokesperson Dr Doyin Okupe, has submitted a withdrawal letter as the running mate to Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Okukpe, who made this known in a tweet, said he submitted a withdrawal letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday afternoon, and that the national chairman of LP would soon announce whom Obi’s running mate would be.
“This afternoon, I submitted my withdrawal letter from the position of the Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party to INEC. A replacement will be announced by the national chairman of the party shortly. I feel greatly blessed to have been part of the foundation of success for the LP”, the tweet read.
The Labour Party presidential Candidate, Obi, had submitted Okupe’s name to the electoral commission as an interim vice-presidential candidate (placeholder), to beat the June 17 deadline set by INEC.
“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 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”, he said.
Meanwhile, the LP will on Friday unveil Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, as the running mate to Peter Obi.
Senator Baba-Ahmed, who is in his 40s is the Proprietor of Baze University, Abuja and Baba-Ahmed University Kano.
The unveiling of the vice presidential candidate was initially slated for Thursday, to be done by Peter Obi at the party’s national secretariat, Abuja.
However, the National Chairman of the party, Barrister Julius Abure, said that the ceremony could not go ahead as planned because the Presidential candidate, who had travelled to Maiduguri and expected back in Abuja Thursday afternoon, had his flight cancelled.
Abure announced that the unveiling of Mr Obi’s running mate was rescheduled for Friday, July 8, at the party’s headquarters, Abuja.
