Why Afenifere Won’t Support Tinubu, Atiku – Adebanjo

Category:  Nigeria News

 

The leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has clarified his position on the group’s support for the Labor Party’s candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, stating why the group will not support the All Progressives Congress’ candidate, Bola Tinubu, and the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

In a statement signed by Adebanjo on Monday, September 26, 2022, and made available to The PUNCH, the Afenifere leader said the group stood on justice and fairness and believed in true federalism and the Federal Character principle.

Responding to the backlash that followed his announcement of the group’s support for Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election, Adebanjo said, “…not a few Yoruba leaders questioned why I should be supporting Peter Obi, a candidate of Igbo extraction, against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba. I took my time to explain that the presidency is not a contest between the Yorubas and the Igbos and to a large extent I was able to convince many.

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“But ever since, social media has been filled with comments tending to ethnicise the campaign instead of making it issue-based. Afenifere has, therefore, decided to address you today and through you educate the public on the ideological and equitable principles which have influenced our decision.”

Adebanjo stated that Afenifere “is the Yoruba interpretation of the social welfarist ideology of Action Group, a political party founded by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his colleagues in 1951 with strong advocacy for federalism as the best form of government to give the federating units the requisite autonomy to thrive and peacefully compete among themselves for the ultimate development of Nigeria.”

He said other founding fathers of Nigeria — Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo — agreed to the system with the endorsement of colonial secretary Sir Oliver Littleton in 1954 “and embodied in the 1960 independence constitution. This is the modest contribution of Afenifere in shaping Nigeria into a federation where no person or ethnic nationality is oppressed.” 

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