Okupe joins Accord Party

A former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, says he has formally joined the Accord Party. This comes less than three weeks after he dumped the Peoples Democratic Party.

According to Punch, Okupe said this in a Facebook post on Tuesday, adding that he would soon announce his formal entry into the party in Ogun State. He said politics is not all about losing and winning elections but about building relationships and helping to evoke social change.

The former presidential wrote, “Following various consultations with political associates, family and friends I have decided to formally join the Accord Party. My decision is based on deep reflection on who I am and what I want from politics.

“To me politics does not begin and end with winning or losing elections. It’s not about big or small parties either. It’s also beyond personal relationships or endearing associations or friendships.

“To me, Politics is about service to the people, policies and ideologies that will serve the best interests of the greater majority of the society, forthrightness and accountability, honour and integrity.”

Okupe, who also served under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said he was not desperate for political power or appointment but was looking at breeding the next generations of youths that would change Nigeria for good.

He said, “I am not desperate to be anything anymore but I am desperate to find and work with other Nigerians especially our young and vibrant upcoming politicians, to establish a political incubator to breed a new generation of leaders who will do things right, maintain high ethical standards and abhor greed, avarice, selfishness and impunity.”

The former PDP member said most of the national parties in Nigeria were set up with a false national spread irrespective of how they came to power. He said most of the parties were only serving the selfish interest of a tiny section of the country which had continued to frustrate development.

Okupe added, “I want to belong to a political party that will be able to publicly state its position on troubling national issues like, requests for self determination by a section of the country, resource control, federalism and restructuring, religious intolerance, atrocities of Fulani herdsman, unequal standards in national university admission policy, and many more.

“Any political party that does not have an openly stated position or stand on these issues is a mere association of elites coming together only to feather their own nests or at best a deceptive political contraption put together by a few to seize power for a few and for the benefit of a few.”