A former member of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign team and once a staunch loyalist of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jesutega Onokpasa, has died at the age of 49.
He passed away on Monday, June 9, 2025. The cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
The news was confirmed by pro-APC advocate Okezie Atani in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, June 10. “We lost Barr. Jesutega Onokpasa. May his soul rest in peace,” Atani wrote.
A lawyer by profession, Onokpasa was a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council during the 2023 general elections and served on the party’s Publicity Committee. He became widely recognized for his spirited defense of APC policies during media appearances, most notably in a heated 2023 exchange with Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni, where he vigorously backed President Tinubu’s economic agenda.
However, his tone changed dramatically in 2025 when he publicly withdrew his support for Tinubu’s re-election bid, citing rising insecurity, deepening economic hardship, and what he described as the administration’s failure to reward loyalty within the party.
In a pointed interview earlier this year, Onokpasa pushed back against assumptions of APC dominance in the 2027 elections, responding to remarks about the party’s momentum with a blistering critique:
“Which done deal? Which done deal? When the people are hungry. Is it that easy for it to be a done deal? Let’s feed our citizens. Let’s govern well,” he said.
“It’s not a question of people defecting to our party. It’s a question of us ruling well. And in that angle, we have failed woefully. President Bola Tinubu has failed woefully to rule well, to provide food for Nigerians, to give them succour in these hard times.”
Onokpasa also questioned the logic behind political defections, referencing his own cousin, Sherif Ogurewere, the governor of Delta State who recently joined the APC:
“I don’t have the slightest idea why he defected… I don’t think it has value to him, or it has value to our party, or it has value to Delta State… This whole idea of, let everybody be, let us just keep packing people into our party—that’s not democracy.”
He stressed the need for robust opposition and stronger democratic values:
“Even in our party, we disagree. We are not even one party in our party. Is it Nigeria that will become a one-party state? It’s a waste of time.”
“President Tinubu should concentrate more on bringing down prices of goods and services, strengthening democratic values… That’s what is going to make us win the election in 2027—not people defecting.”
Jesutega Onokpasa is survived by his wife and children. Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.
Boluwatife Enome
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