President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo’s All Progressives Congress (APC) candidatures as President and Vice-President respectively in next year’s general elections got a big boost on Thursday as the pan Yoruba socio-cultural and political organization, Afenifere endorsed the duo as the Yoruba candidates for the 2019 Presidential election.
The group, which gave a serious knock to its splinter group under the same name and which had pitched tent with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) even before he got the party’s presidential ticket described any other group doing or saying anything contrary to what it just said as usurpers and renegades.
Recalling that Afenifere as founded by the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo “is known for being progressive”, the group said there would be a Yoruba Congress in January for the purpose of open declaration of the Yoruba for the APC candidates.
Afenifere, which made this known through its spokesperson, Chief Biodun Akin-Fasae while briefing newsmen on the outcome of a meeting of delegates and elders from the six Southwest states, which held at the House of Chiefs, Oyo State House of Assembly Complex, Agodi Secretariat, Ibadan was led by its longest living
Senator in Nigeria, Pa Ayo Fasanmi.
According to Akin-Fasae, “we have decided to host the whole Yorubaland in Ibadan on January 29, 2019 which is to proclaim the support of the Yorubaland for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 and also to tell the whole world that the Afenifere that Baba Awolowo created before he left is still intact as a progressive movement and any Afenifere person who is not in the progressive is not part of us.
“We are now telling the whole Yoruba people and the whole world that Afenifere, as enunciated and enacted by Late Sage Obafemi Awolowo is still intact and we are going to support President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo come 2019 Presidential election”, Akin-Fasae added.
Fielding questions from journalists, the Afenifere spokesperson described his own group as the authentic one and declared that
the other Afenifere (the Ayo Adebanjo Group) that is talking about Atiku are not part of the group, saying, “they are usurpers in the group, they are usurpers.
“The Afenifere that we know in Yorubaland is a progressive movement and this is where we are today in Ibadan. Yoruba is not divided, there are not so many Afeniferes. Yoruba is a nation and even during the time of Baba Awolowo, there were dissent voices, so we are not embarrassed.
“Our group is led by the longest living Senator in Nigeria, Pa Ayo Fasanmi and you can see everybody there, including Senator Biyi Durojaiye, Dr Omololu Olunloyo, Baba Olusi and so every other person in Yorubaland who is not a renegade is with us.
“There was no time Afenifere has not been a socio-political organization. It is a socio-cultural and political organization and that is just the full name of Afenifere and let me again say that the owner of the mandate of the Yoruba people is APC.
“The six governors of Yorubaland are APC, all Houses of Assembly in Yorubaland are APC, so we have six Speakers of Houses of Assemblies, so you can imagine. Those who claim to be in the other group of Afenifere, none of them have ever contested an election.
“The fact is there for all to see. So, they don’t have any mandate. It is our Afenifere that we are talking here that has the mandate of the Yoruba people and you will see them here on the day. By January 29, they will all be here including the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to declare support for the President Muhammadu Buhari re-election”, he further declared.
When reminded of the economic situation of the country which had made a lot of people to be disenchanted with the present APC -led administration in the country, Akin-Fasae disclosed that the issue of the economy is a collective issue and that the economy being talked about has been bastardised for years.
The Afenifere spokesperson maintained that “as at now, President Buhari is trying his best, he is bringing the economy up, the GDP is growing. Look at the programmes for the youths and the children through empowerment and school feeding programmes in schools across the country, 26 states are already in the programme and many other states are happy with it.
“So, Buhari is trying his best and the best is yet to come, that is why we are asking people to vote for him, particularly in this Yoruba land come 2019 Presidential election”, he urged the people.
In attendance at the meeting which lasted about four hours were a former governor of Oyo State, Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, Prince Tajudden Olusi, Dr. Abayomi Finnih, Chief Adeleke Adewoyin, Prince Biodun Ogunleye,
former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Chief Iyiola Oladokun and Mr. Ayo Afolabi.
Governments of some of the states in the Southwest were represented and this included Dr. Morounkola Thomas (Oyo), Mr. Oladosu Oladipo, Chief Akin-Fasae (Ekiti), Mr Muyiwa Ige (Osun), Prof. Adebanjo Ademodi (Ondo), Mr Tokunbo Ajasin and Mr Awa Bamiji among others.
