Obi’s victory in Lagos state is proof that APC did not rig election – Doyin Okupe

Former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign, Doyin Okupe, has shared his perspective on the fairness of the 2023 presidential election. Okupe highlighted that Peter Obi’s victory in Lagos State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s stronghold, indicates that the ruling did not rig the election of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement released on Thursday, November 21, Okupe emphasized the significance of Obi’s triumph in Lagos, describing it as a clear indication of the electorate’s ability to freely express their choice, even in regions associated with political heavyweights.

“If Peter Obi (2023 LP presidential candidate) or the Labour Party says APC rigged elections, how come Obi was able to win in the home base of President Bola Tinubu? How come APC lost election in the home base of the sitting President (Muhammadu Buhari)? How come APC lost election in the home base of the secretary to that government?

So, the accusations about rigging do not hold water; they do not hold water at all.

The truth of the matter is that under the best of conditions, the results we got may not have been the exact results, but they will have that ratio.

I was in the Labour Party. We couldn’t have done better than we did. I know that for some reasons but that is a discussion for another day” he said

He dismissed claims by the PDP and the LP that the votes were rigged in favour of the APC.

“There’s nothing like that. No presidency was stolen. I am not saying there was no rigging. There is no election that we have done in Nigeria since 1960 till date that was not rigged one way or the other. Not one. Perhaps, an exception was MKO Abiola’s election because of the unique nature of the voting pattern. You know it was Option A4, people were counted. Apart from that, every other election was rigged.”