Dr. Doyin Okupe, a former Director-General of the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation and erstwhile Labour Party’s (LP) chieftain, says the party’s inability to build an enduring structure after the 2023 elections is responsible for the gale of defections from the party.
Okupe made the statement in an interview in Lagos on Sunday.
It will be recalled that no fewer than six LP lawmakers recently dumped the party on the floor of the House of Representatives for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defected lawmakers include Rep. Tochukwu Chinedu Okere (Imo), Rep. Donatus Matthew (Kaduna), Rep. Akiba Bassey (Cross River), and Rep. Esosa Iyawe (Edo).
Also, a great number of ordinary members of LP have also dumped the party for the APC and PDP lately.
Okupe noted that the mass defections from LP were expected, as elected members would not stay in a party where the future is uncertain.
The former LP chieftain said those leaving the party knew they had to move for political relevance and survival.
“The Labour Party was one of those common parties that existed mainly for those who could not get tickets in the major parties to come and find expression.
“That is how we also got there. Our presence in the Labour Party then boosted the fortune of Labour Party.
“But what was important and which was essentially neglected by the leadership of the Labour Party and the presidential candidate was political structure.
“So, those who are in the National Assembly (under LP platform) know that they are on their last card.
“Even if they cannot return, they need to use their opportunity right now to align with one or two of the major parties and become somebody.
“So, that is why you are seeing all this gale of defections, and it’s not going to stop,” he said.
Okupe, a former presidential spokesman, said that lawmakers elected under the platform of the Labour Party knew that the situation that brought them would be different in 2027.
He added: “Those who came on the popularity of the Obedient Movement know, for a fact, that they would not return because the circumstances are different.
“The situation has become different. What happened in the South West is not going to happen in 2027. I can assure you. It’s not going to happen.
“People want political success tomorrow, but LP is not ready to build. They are not ready to build and are not ready to invest in structures, so people will leave,” he said.
According to him, it is also very possible that Obi, the 2023 LP’s presidential candidate, dumps the party, considering his meetings with some opposition leaders recently.
“Obi was with Atiku Abubakar in Adamawa recently. So, what does that tell you? That tells you that all options are open. The followers in the Labour Party are not blind,” he said.
