Akin Osuntokun, the new director general of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, claimed he took the position without any bias toward any particular religion or race.
He also denied rumours that he might have pushed for or advocated for his new position.
In response to inquiries from The PUNCH, Osuntokun discussed how he would handle criticism from the South West, which is dominated by the All Progressives Congress and supporters of its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, for choosing to collaborate with the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
“We are removing Nigeria from the culture of feelings,” he declared. We won’t support the continuation of those primitive emotions. It shouldn’t matter whether a candidate is Yoruba, Igbo, or Fulani this time around if he wants to win.
“If we don’t, we’ll be held accountable for everything that has gone wrong in this nation. Competence and history should be the topics of discussion.
In response to a question about whether he would experience any pressure following Okupe’s departure, Osuntokun acknowledged that he wouldn’t be the only one.
Osuntokun claimed that despite the fact that his new position may come with more duties, he was up to the challenge of handling stress.
Of course, the other DGs from other campaigns will there as well. Until the election, everyone in the campaign structure will inevitably be under pressure. It’s not a chair-like stance.
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Naturally, I’m pleased with it. I’m excited about my new position. It didn’t surprise me in the least. I didn’t promote it.
“I am below the DG of the South West in the structure of the campaign organisation as the zonal coordinator for the South West. If we take that into consideration, I wasn’t surprised by it. That is the straightforward justification for that,” he stated.
The former managing director of News Agency of Nigeria said that he has a vast amount of expertise in terms of taking part in the Nigerian presidential election when asked how he meant to get started quickly.
It is not unfamiliar ground. I served as a political adviser for the presidential elections of 2003 and 2007,” he claimed.
On Tuesday, the new campaign manager for Obi was introduced as the former advisor to President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He took over for the outgoing DG, Doyin Okupe, who submitted his letter of resignation last Tuesday in response to an Abuja Federal High Court decision finding him guilty of breaking the Money Laundering Act.
Obi’s media assistant, Emeka Obasi, informed our correspondent two days prior that the new DG appointed to lead the campaign council would be revealed in 48 hours.
But after leaving a party strategy session where Obi, members of the National Working Committee, and a number of Labour Party candidates were present, LP National Chairman Julius Abure told press that Osuntokun was the chosen one.
He said Okupe would be replaced by the former managing director of NAN, who was “worthy and trustworthy.”
Following his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the LP in August 2022, Osuntokun became the party’s South West leader.
