Sack Okupe Now, ACN Tells Jonathan

The Action Congress of Nigeria has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to fire his newly appointed Senior Special assistant on public affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, hand him over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for immediate prosecution, and in addition apologise to Nigerians for appointing a person with an alleged criminal past as the nation’s public affairs spokesperson. In a statement issued on Monday by its national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Jonathan’ administration, in its desperation to employ an “attack dog” to spearhead its onslaught against the opposition parties and other vocal opponents, ended up outsourcing the very crucial and strategic position of projecting the public image and reputation of Nigeria to a person with no public reputation and a past steeped in corruption. According to an online report Okupe is on the list of those being investigated by EFCC on account of a contract running into hundreds of millions of naira obtained from the Benue State Governor while serving under President Obasanjoin a similar capacity as the chief spokesperson of that administration. Okupe, the online report further claimed, rather than execute the project, bolted with the over N200,000,000 mobilization money, which he is believed to have invested in his ill-fated political ambition. “That President Goodluck Jonathan went ahead to appoint Dr. Doyin Okupe as public affairs specialist for the administration, and by extension Nigeria, despite his criminal background should not come as a surprise to any close observer of this administration, as it only confirmsthe fatal attraction President Jonathan has for appointing or retaining tainted and damaged persons with shoddy pasts or questionable character to serve inhis government,” ACN said. “The revelation that Dr. Doyin Okupe was appointed as the spokesperson of the FG while still under investigation and yet to answer charges bordering on criminal conversion of state funds definitely flies in the face of the rhetorics of this government that fighting corruption is one of its cardinal goals and also an insult to the collective integrity of Nigerians especially given the cloudy circumstances under which Dr. Doyin Okupe was relieved of a similar position by President Olusegun Obasanjo. Continuing, ACN wrote, “The Ill-informed decision of President Jonathan to appoint, as his chief image maker, a person who needs to be publicly prosecuted for alleged crime has once again confirmed that the Jonathan Government is deeply troubled about its public image and perception, as a rudderless Government that is lost at sea with no compass. :However, President Jonathan is advised that no amount of spin done by one thousand spin doctors like Dr. Okupe and his co-travellers will rescue the government from public odium. Only performance and delivery, respect for the rule of law and therights of Nigerians will change the perception. “That a President of a country will approve the appointment of someone under criminal investigation to interface with the public on behalf of the Nigeria Government ridicules the Nigerian people. “The Action Congress of Nigeria, therefore, calls on President Jonathan today to fire Dr. Doyin Okupe immediately, allow the EFCCto prosecute him, and offer Nigerians an unpreserved apology for appointing someone who needs to be publicly prosecuted for alleged crime to interface with and on their behalf.The party simultaneously calls on Dr. Doyin Okupe to immediately resign his appointment and defend himself against the alleged criminal charges.” It concluded that should none of the three things take place in the next few days, then “Nigerians must come to terms with the fact that they are at the mercy of an insular government that is comfortable in the company of fraudsters, crooks, black mailers and embezzlers.”