Doyin Okupe, former media aide to Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, has passed away. He died on Friday, March 7, in a hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos at the age of 72. Family sources revealed that Dr. Okupe had been seriously ill in recent weeks, battling a remission of cancer, which he sadly lost the fight to this morning.
Born on March 22, 1952, in Iperu, Ogun State, Doyin Okupe was the son of Chief Matthew Adekoya Okupe, a banker with Agbonmagbe Bank. He attended St. Jude’s School in Ebute Metta, Igbobi College in Yaba, and the University of Ibadan.
As the Fourth Nigerian Republic began, Okupe was appointed Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Olusegun Obasanjo. In 2002, he contested the Ogun State governorship primaries as a major contender in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). He also served as Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012.
Okupe later became the spokesperson for Peter Obi’s presidential campaign and is survived by his wife and children.