The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, on Monday justified its decision to back the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, for the 2023 elections.

The group’s leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, made its position known at a press conference in Lagos.

Justifying the decision, Adebanjo said the group would not compromise the principle of justice, equity and inclusiveness because the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a Yoruba man.

He said, “The South-West has produced a President and currently sits as Vice President; the South-South has spent a total of six years in the Presidency, but the Igbo people of the South-East have never tasted presidency in Nigeria, and now that the power is due back in the South, equity demands that it be ceded to the Igbo.

“We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria while we, at the same time, continue to brutally marginalise and exclude them from the power dynamics.

“Peter Obi is the person of Igbo extraction that Afenifere has decided to support and back; he is the man we trust to restructure the country back to federalism on the assumption of office.

“We will not compromise this principle of justice, equity and inclusiveness because one of our own, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a frontline candidate. It is on this same principle we condemn the Peoples Democratic Party for sponsoring Atiku Abubakar, a Northern Fulani Muslim to succeed General Muhammadu Buhari another Fulani Muslim.”

However, in his reaction, the APC spokesperson, Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, accused Adebanjo of promoting his agenda as the position of the pan-Yoruba group.

Keyamo told The PUNCH on Monday that he stood by an earlier statement released by the council’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga.

He said, “We stand by the statement issued yesterday (Sunday) by our campaign council media director. Afenifere is not the mouthpiece of the Yoruba. The release comprehensively addressed the matter.

“The issue is that the Afenifere in question is just Pa Adebanjo trying to project his personal bias against Asiwaju. He is not pursuing any pan-Yoruba act of patriotism as claimed. No, he is not.

“Besides, his view is not the position of the entire Afenifere. He is just a factional member of the group. We are aware that there was no time Afenifere met to take such a decision.”

Onanuga had, in an earlier statement, described Adebanjo’s endorsement of Obi as a personal decision.

While admitting that he is free to support anyone he likes in furtherance of his democratic right, the media director stated that the elder statesman does not speak for the Yorubas.

Source: https://punchng.com/Afenifere-justifies-Obis-endorsement-Tinubus-team-fumes

We stand with Afenifere.

Ok

The endorsement is their rights and reflects the sophistication and culture of the Yoruba. You are allowed to express your different political views. It is just the reality that this endorsement has no electoral value.

In fact, nobody in that room believes that they can run to town with that endorsement and get votes among the Yoruba but it is conceded to them to express their different political view.

Not even in Lagos where the press conference held or Ijebu Igbo the ancestral home of Pa Adebanjo, will lp get votes of Yoruba on the account of that press briefing. It is an exercise in futility. Even Chief Sonibare who was present there is a factional chairman of SDP and will never ask his folks to ignore SDP to vote lp.
The Yoruba votes is locked down for Asiwaju and as at today, nothing has moved a needle to change the mind of majority of Yoruba to not vote for Asiwaju Tinubu.

4 zones are locked down for Asiwaju; NW, SW, NE and NC. The PDP will get SE as usual while SS will be shared between PDP and APC. There is no space for a mushroom party backed by unpatriotic elements.
check my signature for free stuffs!

even his people are rejecting him

With all due respect in the world to Pa adebanjo, leader afenifere

Afenifere as a group is as insignificant as the letter 'p' in the word 'psychology' when talking about influencing the yorubas. So i guess they are just looking for mere cheap attention afterall, you will definitely get your 1-week fame. After that, the 'on your own' group 'afenifere' will crawl back inside the hole of insignifancy. Place befitting of a group that have vast history of never picking side with a winner before. Legendary bunch of losers.

Infact, nobody in the south-west gives a damn or heck about the Afenifere group opinion on political matters. Its opinion is personal to itself, and as such it's inconsequential, frivolous, inconsiderable, irrelevant, insignificant and minuscule.

May i remind, Pa. Adebanjo, with all due respect. That this same set of people wanting to rule Nigeria, invoke, instigate, abet and incite one of the greatest violence and destruction to ever hit one of the south-west region, Lagos state. They invaded our home, loot, burn, destroy our businesses in disguise of Endsarz revolution, even though if you can recall sir , that we openly accepted them in mass exodus into our region, we gave them suitable place to do business, sold them lands for houses... But all they could everly think of is to always bite the finger we use in feeding them repeatedly through deep hatred, insults, and going far as instigating us against eachother by using common words like Yoruba muslim,yoruba christians,Liberal yoruba muslim,northern slave yoruba muslim to divide us along religious line. They do this purely due to the hate they abhour towards us.


Sir, with due respect. I will never ever be part or party to any group of people, or be use as a tool that will bring onboard one of these children of hate that called this our beloved country which the yoruba is also an integral part a 'Zoo' .

People that refers to the yorubas as the 'Northerner slaves' and have never ever wish for the growth or stability of the yoruba region in general.

Infact let me be clear sir that if it is Peter obi only on the ballot, i as a person will rather not vote atall. I dont have a vote to waste on a chief tribal bigot disguising as a friend of the yoruba region just to actualise whatever desperate ambition he is chasing. Because if you can recall sir, this same man peter obi pulled a charade not long ago, when he acted like he was reading from a whatssap message supposedly sent by someone from a yoruba group according to him. You can recall vividly well without being sentimental that the only motive of reading that message was to cause an uproar and tribal tension between the yorubas and the igbos. A sheep doesnt change its clothe. So does an average yiibo person. They are all the same. Different person, same tribalistic soul. Nothing less, nothing more

Lastly, let me be clear sir. It is us against them. It is Nigeria against its enemies. It is yoruba against its enemies. Thank you.

A Country where equity and fairness does not work will never progress. Afenifere is right after all.

If it was another person that said this, we will say, what he's talking about is rubbish. But BABA AFENIFERE said this, we should agree with him.

He has said it all

That's it.

Besides, equity, fairness, and justice, it's the right thing for the right mind to do, support Peter Obi!
Why would you not support Obi?

If I'm Peter Obi, I'll reject the group's endorsement, lest they jinx him like they did GEJ and Atiku. My fellow Obidients, wetin una think?

The igbos have now produced a candidate that will unit and build Nigeria to an enviable height through Peter obi.

No group can be trusted

"We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria while we, at the same time, continue to brutally marginalise and exclude them from the power dynamics"


Afenifere says, enough is enough to the hate mongers. You can’t vote in criminals and expect them to act honorably in power. Agbado urchins lu’le!

OkutaNla:
If I'm Peter Obi, I'll reject the group's endorsement, lest they jinx him like they did GEJ and Atiku. My fellow Obidients, wetin una think?

They don't have to reject the endorsement. Are you not reaping the "fruit" of your disobedience to the previous endorsements today?

A car of #1.5m in 2018 now sells for > #3.5m. Has your income increased by 200-300% from 2018 till date? 35% of dollar millionaires in Nigeria lost their status under Buhari.

Whether the endorsement translates to vote or not, their decision remains historic.

Like Afenifere, the Northern Elders Forum also rejected Buhari in 2019 but you people failed to listen. Reject their endorsement again and face the consequences for 8 years.

Ewwee

How many stretchers we go need today oo?... I see agbado urchins, fainting all around me.

My prayers for all d agbado-loving blodas wey go sick because of ds news is simple — "may the injection needle wey dem go use treat dem, be as big as a corn cob"

Iseeee!

In 2019 when some Yoruba group said if PMB is elected for the second term term presidency will shift to southwest, I said it is devilish to say such when we have a region that has not provided one.

When Pa Fasoranti ( Afenifere Leader at that time) daughter was killed by herdsmen along Lagos-Ore Expressway, Tinubu rebuffed the claim it was herdsmen and rhetorically asked where were the cows. Am sure more will still come for his past remarks which clearly defines his person.

Emilokan

Efuaye:
Besides, equity, fairness, and justice, it's the right thing for the right mind to do, support Peter Obi!
Why would you not support Obi?

Stop trying to push your candidate down our throat through cheap emotional card.


It is bound to fail.

The Emilokan BASTARDS go fume till their mouth turn to chimney
OBIDATTI is a Devine movement and if any baga block way, God go crush the person
Nonsense

Una never see anything yet. Una go cry tire ntooor...

As e dey pain them, e dey sweet us

Ok naa.
..
Meanwhile..
..

..
REPORTS FROM SOME QUARTERS ARE SUGGESTING THAT:
IT WAS CHIMAROKE AND HIS THUGS WHO ARE BEHIND THE UNKNOWN GUN-MEN WHO WERE ATTACKING THE LABOUR-PARTY MEETINGS...

AND NOT REALLY IPOB MEMBERS, AS THEY WERE TRYING TO MAKE PEOPLE TO BELIEVE..

Respected Afenifere are not even up to 200 people. There is no much difference. However, voting for Asiwaju is like seeing light and choosing to follow darkness. How can you vote for a party that has supervised banditry, insecurity, poor economy, hunger , poor electricity , bigotry and corruption.

Toh

Your PVC is ready.

INEC officials are not under pressure now, go and collect it.

Don't wait till a month to election when everywhere is jam-parked, unable to collect your PVC and later accused INEC of disenfranchising you your right to vote.

Betrayers. They have been bribed. Obi too is a thief, he is not better than Tinubu, unless they have personal hate for Tinubu.

We are watching. It's either Obi or Tinubu.

Before I support power to South.... Anyone between Tinubu and obi is ok for me but I realize that some supporters are the most foolish set of people ... So in order to settle the fight, I go for neutral person.

Go for Atiku

Atikulate 2023