On Friday, March 7, Doyin Okupe, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo died at the age of 72 after a protracted illness.
Okupe was said to have passed during surgery in a hospital on the Lagos Island.
Since his passing, condolences have continued to trickle in from notable Nigerians including President Bola Tinubu; the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and the governor of his home state, Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun.
Also, the Labour Party, a political party of which Okupe served as the director-general of its presidential campaign office in 2023 has also condoled with family and loved ones of the late politician.
Below are some of the things you need to know about Doyin Okupe;
- Education and medical career
A medical doctor by training, Okupe obtained his MBBS from the University of Ibadan in Oyo State, shortly after his early education at St Jude’s school, Ebute Metta and Igbobi College, both in Lagos State.
He co-founded the Royal Cross Medical Centre in Obalende, Lagos – a partnership with his then colleagues, Ladi Okuboyejo and Seyi Roberts.
At the medical facility, Okupe served as the managing director and contributed immensely to the delivery of healthcare services in the centre.
2. Family
Born to the family of Chief Matthew Adekoya Okupe, a banker with Agbonmagbe Bank, Okupe and his wife Aduralere have seven children with a number of them living outside the country.
One of his sons, Bolu come out of the closest as a gay in January 2021. This exposure gathered a lot of media attention to Okupe who, however, reacted to the news by saying that his son was on a Godly mission in the LGBTQ+ community.
3. Politics
During the Third Republic, Okupe transitioned from the health industry into politics and soon became the national publicity secretary of the National Republican Convention (NRC).
He was subsequently appointed as a Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to President Olusegun Obasanjo and then proceeded to seve as former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs.
In the build up of the 2023 presidential elections in Nigeria, he served as a placeholder for the Labour Party’s vice presidential candidate before stepping down for Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.
He was latter appointed as the director-general of the Labour Party’s Presidential Campaign Organisation where he handled the affairs as a spokesperson for Peter Obi.
Citing political ideological differences, Okupe resigned his position as LP’s DG and threw his support for the administration and policies of President Bola Tinubu.
4. Money laundering case
Accused of receiving N200 million in cash from Colonel Sambo Dasuki (retired), a former National Security Adviser, Doyin Okupe was convicted by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja for violating the Money Laundering Act in December 2022.
He was sentenced to two years imprisonment by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu for each of 26 count charges levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
While the jail term was expected to run concurrently, Okupe also got an option of fine of N500,000 for each of the charges summing up to N13 million. He accept the fine option and promptly paid the court to avoid incarceration.
5. Health and death
Family members have confirmed that Okupe was diagnosed of prostrate cancer 16 years ago and he has since been managing the ailment. In 2023, he was said to have been hospitalised and later flown to Israel for treatment.
In addition, he developed sarcoma – a cancerous tumour that occurs in the bones and soft tissues – on his right shoulder.
Also, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Okupe and his wife Aduralere, tested positive to the disease and subsequently recovered in April 2020.
He, however, died on Friday, March 7, 2025, during a surgery in a Lagos hospital.