Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the head of the South West Governors’ Forum and governor of Ondo State, has rejected the argument made by the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group Afenifere, which is supporting Peter Obi for the Labour Party (LP), claiming that they are not speaking on behalf of the Yoruba.
The governor also promised Nigerians that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, will make sure that true federalism flourishes under his presidency.
Akeredolu said Tinubu, while emphasizing that he will open up new horizons in government, was aware of the critical problems facing the nation.
The governor made this comment over the weekend while participating in a Twitter Space session on the subject of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Business of Nation Building.
True federalism is one of the powerful pillars that may be used to create a wealthy country, according to Akeredolu, who is also the Southwest Coordinator for the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign.
He said, “If voted into government, Nigerians will see that we have someone in place that had gone through democratic tutelage. He has been governor.
He led a party. “Asiwaju has deep knowledge about the problems of this nation. He has been part of the struggle to ensure that democracy is enthroned and that a true federal system runs in the country.”
Afenifere shot out in response to the governor’s assertion, stating that they speak for the Yoruba race and not Akeredolu. Afenifere stated in a statement issued by its Secretary General Sola Ebiseni: “Yoruba know the organisation which speaks for them, taking hard decisions which others may initially despise but come round to embrace in the fullness of time.”
The group insisted that Obi is the best choice for the country in 2023. It said: “To start with, we wish to reiterate the principled stance of the Afenifere that the next President of Nigeria should be from the South, and all things equitably considered, from the South East, for which we consider Mr. Peter Obi, by his verifiable records as a two term Governor of Anambra State, most competent and suitable.
“It is a well-considered corporate decision debated for over a year of regular monthly meetings, validly conveyed in the best tradition of the organisation.
“While we have our respect for Governor Akeredolu and his colleagues of the Southern Governors’ Forum, which he leads, on their stand that it is only equitable that the next President of Nigeria, after the eight years of Buhari of Northern Nigeria extraction, should come from the South, we will not lend our support to those who betray that cause for the lucre of Vice Presidential porridge or those who see equity only from the parochial prism of their own ethnic benefits.”
