31st July, 2012
Dr. Doyin Okupe, the newest member of President Goodluck Jonathan media team told journalists on Tuesday that though he was hired to defend the President, he will not be an “attack dog” of his boss.
Okupe who was appointed Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan spoke to State House Correspondents after he was introduced by Reuben Abati, the presidential spokesperson.
The parley with journalists was meant to douse raging speculations of a rift between Abati and Okupe. “Somebody said Okupe has been hired as an attack dog, if President Jonathan hires a 60-year-old man as attack dog, then he is employing a weak attack dog. I am not an attack dog,” he said. My job basically is public advocacy. The opposition in Nigeria is a strong one; we must admit that, very boisterous. We need to engage the public; we need to engage opposition to deepen the understanding of the opposition on what government policies are”, said Okupe, who believed that the criticisms of most of the policies of President Jonathan was borne out of misunderstanding of his good intention by the public.
“One message I want you to leave here with is that Nigerians should give President Jonathan another look; take another look at this man called Goodluck Jonathan. Is he exactly what the opposition is saying? Nigerians should take another look,” he added.
Okupe who was Senior Special Assistant on Media to former President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2001 also affirmed that his appointment will not result in conflict in information dissemination from the presidency.
“From time to time, what you can only find is a unity of purpose between my good self and my younger brother here. We are going to work together. Like he said, what we share is the passion for President Jonathan,” said the new SSA who said his relationship with Dr. Abati spans over 15 years.
“The Special Adviser to the President remains the presidential spokesman. All official policies and statements emanating from the President are released through him. Anything that is official, which has to do with what the President has spoken, will be spoken of by Dr. Reuben Abati. My job is public affairs. Later this afternoon, Dr. Abati and the President will be travelling to Trinidad and Tobago, while they are away, issues become current, debates surface and somebody in Trinidad and Tobago cannot be the one at the same time engaging the public. So, my department which is not going to be in the Villa is to engage the public on issues that are current and of national importance”
“I know there will be all kinds of interests who will like to give an impression that they are fighting in the Villa; that they are confused, that they have Reuben Abati, why do they need to have Dr. Okupe again. There is no conflict at all, we are working together as a team and you are not going to see any kind of friction. If anything, you are going to see us engaging the public with a lot of coherence. Dr. Okupe is joining our team with a lot of experience. He is a man that you all know very well. He is gifted with a lot of political savvy, very amiable, very highly-respected within the society”, Abati said while disputing reports of friction between him and Okupe.