A former aide of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan Doyin Okupe has openly refuted claims he was against the presidential aspiration of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
Okupe who was earlier quoted saying Atiku becoming Nigeria’s president even for a day would draw the country backwards said, ‘’I can never insult Atiku.’’
He once wrote in his Twitter handle that, “If Atiku rules Nigeria for 1 day, it will take us 10 years to recover. If Saraki rules for a day, Nigeria will (bxexcxoxmxe) make history.”
Atiku, a former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he is one of the party’s presidential aspirants.
1-Dear @doyinokupe,
With due respects, Nigeria’s greatest challenge is unemployment. @SGYemiKale’s NBS revealed in December that 7.9 million Nigerians lost their jobs in 21 months. We need a job creator like @Atiku. Not a job destroyer like @Mbuhari #OkupeIsWrongOnAtiku
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) August 21, 2018
2-Dr. @doyinokupe, I know you recently reconciled with President Obasanjo. I appreciate the interplay. But now is the time to put national interest above personal interest. @Atiku knows how to create jobs. Nigerians need jobs more than they need anything else #OkupeIsWrongOnAtiku
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) August 21, 2018
4-I know you support Saraki, but @doyinokupe you can campaign for Saraki without denigrating @Atiku. The opposition must not turn its arsenal on themselves. Under Buhari, 11 million jobs have been lost and herdsmen have killed thousands. Let us get him out #OkupeIsWrongOnAtiku
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) August 21, 2018
3-If you, @doyinokupe, have any evidence to substantiate your claims against @Atiku, I urge you to come out and expose it to the Nigerian public or hold your peace. Atiku has 50,000 direct employees. Who amongst those contesting can create jobs like Atiku? #OkupeIsWrongOnAtiku
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) August 21, 2018
Afterward, the statement generated criticisms as many Nigerians including Reno Omokri, who was also an aide to Jonathan, slammed Okupe over the derogatory statement made against the former Vice-President.
However, writing on Facebook page on Wednesday, Okupe, after public backlash swallowed his words saying he “tried some humour on the post” as he would “never insult” Atiku.
Okupe who was also an aide of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said he holds the former vice-president in high esteem and blamed “mischief makers” for turning his comment around.
“I did not originate d post saying if Atiku ruled, Nigeria will not recover in 10 years, but if senate president rules, Nigeria will become history,” he wrote.
“I tried some humour on the post by crossing out the “become” and changing it to ‘will make history’.
“Mischief makers turned to look like i was disparaging Atiku. I can never insult Atiku for any reason. I hold him in very high esteem as he was very instrumental to my getting appointed in the Obasanjo regime.”
https://www.facebook.com/okupedoyin/posts/2109979865928501
