Dr Doyin Okupe, former spokesperson for ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan is dead.
He died in the early hours of Friday in Lagos at the age of 72.
Born in Iperu-Remo within Ikenne Local Government of Ogun State, he had been sick for a while.
Local government chairman Jamiu Ashimi confirmed the news and condoled.
A close friend Chief Michael Adesanya also confirmed that Okupe died Friday morning in Lagos.
Dr Okupe’s career was in both politics and medicine hence a big public figure.
He was Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Obasanjo and Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs under President Goodluck Jonathan.
He was also Director-General of Peter Obi’s 2023 Presidential Campaign.
In addition to his political roles he was a medical doctor who co-founded Royal Cross Medical Centre and was National Publicity Secretary of National Republican Convention.
His political journey was not without controversy.
In December 2022 he resigned from Peter Obi’s campaign after conviction for breach of parts of Money Laundering Act.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu found him guilty of violating sections 16(1) and (2) of the Act for accepting cash above the threshold without going through financial institution.
After the 2023 election he left Labour Party and became a chief advocate of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He was always in robust political debates which showed his boldness and unfiltered views.
Dr Okupe also ventured into elective politics as a former PDP governorship aspirant in Ogun State.
His multi-faceted career bridging both high level politics and medicine shows the challenges of public service in Nigeria.
His journey of both good and bad left an imprint on the nation’s history.