A week after Doyin Okupe resigned as director-general of the Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation, Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has appointed Akin Osuntokun, a former aide to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, as new director-general of the campaign council.
Julius Abure, Labour Party national chairman, announced the appointment Tuesday after a strategic meeting attended by Obi, members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and many other party stakeholders.
Abure described Osuntokun as a “trustworthy person” and a “worthy” replacement for Okupe.
Osuntokun, a former managing director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), served as political adviser to former President Obasanjo and also as director of the PDP presidential campaign in the 2011 elections.
The veteran journalist became the Labour Party South-West leader following his defection from PDP to LP in August.
Obi and Labour Party began to search for a replacement following Okupe’s resignation last Tuesday, through a letter addressed to Obi and the Labour Party presidential campaign council, after an Abuja Federal High Court convicted the former campaign DG for breaching the Money Laundering Act.
The name of Modupe Adelaja, a lawyer, former Defence Minister and daughter of late Afenifere leader, Pa Abraham Adesanya, had been top on the list of possible replacements for Okupe. She was believed to be the subtle choice of Obasanjo and Afenifere members within the Obi-Datti Southwest support group.
However, it is now clear that the Labour Party had a last-minute change of plan.
