‘He knows me and what I can do’: Doyin Okupe, Lai Mohammed engage in a war of words in the US

by ‘Jola Sotubo

Doyin Okupe

The battle for supremacy at the 2015 elections is heating up as the Presidency and opposition parties, led by the All Progressives Congress (APC) confronted each other at a forum in Washington D.C, in the United States of America.

The meeting was said to have degenerated into a war of words between the parties after blame and criticism were heaped on President Goodluck Jonathan.

The opposition parties also stated that President Jonathan had shown a complete lack of sincerity towards conducting free and fair elections in the country.

Vanguard reports:

The forum held under the auspices of the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS nearly boiled over after Dr. Doyin Okupe who led the presidency and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, delegation warned opposition politicians not to bring the personality of the president into the forum.

Dr. Okupe who had started by claiming that he would not wash the country’s dirty linen in public, however, exploded when Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the All Progressives Congress, APC, spokesman hinted at the administration’s failure to address transparency issues including the alleged missing $20 billion oil revenue and indiscretions by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as failings of the government.

“Alhaji Lai Mohammed should not cast aspersions on the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because if he does that, he knows me and what I can do,” Okupe said as he went on to project the 2011 elections as the best in the country’s history which he said, were only dented by violence inspired by opposition politicians.

Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States, Prof. Ade Adefuye in his summary of the discussions, however, praised the two sides saying that the articulation of the two parties was reflective of the high level of political discourse in Nigeria. He nevertheless warned the two sides not to wash the country’s image in public even as he raised questions about Nigerians coming to discuss their country in the United States.

Ms Jennifer Cooke, Director of the CSIS Africa programme who moderated the discussions from that point intervened as both sides tried to showcase the failings of one another.

Ms Cooke was forced to intervene after Okupe raised issues on Mohammed’s assertion of the administration’s failures to address the spate of insecurity inspired by the Boko Haram Islamic group.

Noting words of advice from the party to the government, he said:

“Insurgency is not a matter that can be politicised but unfortunately the government of the day has not been able to distinguish between the message and the messenger,” as the opposition politicians faulted the president’s failure to visit the war ravaged sections of the Northeast.

Okupe intervening hollered, “I do not expect you to come to this forum to raise these issues, it is nonsense,” he said.

The CSIS forum continued last night with sessions between the Nigerian politicians and state department officials.

Sessions would also be held today with other democracy building institutions based in America and meetings with senior officials of the Barack Obama administration.

One comment

  1. Goodluck remain the best thing that can happen to Nigeria.opposition problem is bcos his from minority

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail