Apex Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, says its support for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, is a done deal, pointing out that the decision was not taken in hurry or based on any pecuniary considerations.
Afenifere Secretary General, Otunba Sola Ebiseni who disclosed this when he appeared on Arise News breakfast programme ‘The Morning Show’ monitored in Abuja on Tuesday, said the decision was based on equity, fairness and national unity.
“There is no controversy over Afenifere’s endorsement of the Labour Party flag-bearer, Mr. Peter Obi. It took Afenifere many weeks of deliberations to arrive at the decision to back the candidate of the Labour Party based on equity, justice, fairness and national unity”.
Speaking further the Afenifere chieftain argued that: “Afenifere is founded in equity, fairness, justice and above all national unity. Support for the Labour Party candidate is in tandem with what Afenifere stands for”.
“Peter Obi is a metaphor for the minority Nigerians because if the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wins the 2023 presidential election, it will bring a new trajectory that a Fulani Northerner can always win the presidential election without recourse to any other part of Nigeria.
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“In the same vein, if the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate wins in 2023, it means that the Presidency of Nigeria will rotate between the Fulani/ Northerners and the Yorubas. So Peter Obi represents the unity of Nigeria hence Afenifere endorsed him”.
Asked if Afenifere is not factionalized following the recent endorsement of the APC presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Akure by Pa Reuben Fasoranti, Ebiseni poured cold water on the arguments of a second endorsement by the same group.
According to him: “what happened in Akure in the house of the elder statesman, Pa Reuben Fasoranti was not the Afenifere meeting.
“Those who went to Pa Fasoranti were not Afenifere, they are members of the Afenifere Renewal Group, dissidents who broke away from Afenifere”.
Going down the memory lane, the Afenifere scribe revealed that: “in 2015, Pa Fasoranti wanted to resign as he wrote a letter to members, he tendered the letter of resignation but Pa Ayo Adebanjo and Pa Lanihun Ajayi persuaded him to stay on”.
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He disclosed that Pa Fasoranti wanted to resign because of the nefarious activities of members of Afenifere Renewal Group, saying that the same group that frustrated the man has gone back to him to seek for blessing.
Explaining how Chief Ayo Adebanjo became the anointed leader of Afenifere, Ebiseni insists that the transmission of power from former leader Pa Fasoranti to the current leader Chief Adebanjo was initiated and executed by the former.
“On March 16, 2022 Pa Fasoranti called a meeting in Afenifere where he read a letter in the presence of a member, he identified Pa Adebanjo, praised him for standing firm for Afenifere and after reading the letter, transmitted power to Pa Adebanjo.
He also directed Oba Olaitan to assist Pa Adebanjo and charged every member to support them”.