Former presidential spokesman and Director-General of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign, Doyin Okupe has addressed claims made by Peter Obi of the Labour Party regarding the 2023 presidential election.

Okupe firmly dismissed allegations that the election was rigged, pointing out that President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost in major areas, including Lagos, Tinubu's home state, and Katsina, the home of former President Muhammadu Buhari. He questioned, "If Peter Obi or the Labour Party says APC rigged elections, how come Obi was able to win in the home base of President Bola Tinubu?"

Okupe argued that the accusations of rigging do not hold water, emphasizing that while the results may not have been perfect, they reflected a realistic ratio.

He stated, "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." Furthermore, he criticized the opposition for being unrealistic with their claims that "the presidency was stolen," asserting, "There’s nothing like that. No presidency was stolen."

Okupe acknowledged that while no Nigerian election since 1960 has been entirely free of rigging, he expressed confidence in Tinubu's leadership and reforms. He noted that Tinubu's policies would begin to yield positive results from the second year of his administration, likening Tinubu's preparedness for governance to that of past leaders.

Okupe concluded by urging Nigerians to support the President in addressing the country's challenges, stating, "It is going to be a couple of years of pain and hardship, but he is doing what other presidents for the last 10 years or 20 years have refused to do."