NewStats: 3,259,816 , 8,170,938 topics. Date: Monday, 26 May 2025 at 04:50 AM 6u3n1a

The leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has clarified his position on the group’s for the Labour Party’s candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, stating why the group will not 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 for Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election, Adebanjo said, “…not a few Yoruba leaders questioned why I should be ing 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.

“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.”

The nonagenarian said Afenifere had always advocated and insisted on restructuring of the country “long before the parties conducted their Conventions to elect their National Executives and candidates,” and had proposed “a synthesis of the identical Resolutions of the 2014 National Conference and the APC El-Rufai 2018 True Federalism Committee.”

Adebanjo said Afenifere and the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum “unanimously proposed that the minimum condition for a peaceful transition from the disastrous eight years of Buhari’s government headed by a President of northern extraction was to have the next President from the South,” a position which, he said, was ed by southern governors irrespective of their political parties.

He added, “In this quest for peace, based on equity and inclusiveness, the Yoruba took the first turn at the zoning arrangement in 1999, and that led to the emergence of Chief (Olusegun) Obasanjo, the current Vice President is a Yoruba man and equity forbids us for presuming to another Yoruba person for the presidency in 2023.

“The current President is a Fulani from the North-West and by virtue of the zoning arrangement that has governed Nigeria since 1999, power is supposed to return to the south imminently. The


“The South-West, as I have pointed out, has produced a president and currently sits as VP, 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.”

Adebanjo, therefore, condemned the ceding of the PDP presidential ticket to “a Northern Fulani Muslim to succeed General Muhammadu Buhari, another Fulani Muslim, who will soon complete eight years of uneventful and disastrous rule. One can imagine such a high degree of political insensitivity.”

The Afenifere leader also stated that the group would not jettison equity, inclusiveness and justice just because one of their own — Asiwaju Bola Tinubu — was in the contest.

“We will not compromise this principle of justice, equity and inclusiveness because one of our own Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a frontline candidate,” Adebanjo said.


Adebanjo, who said Afenifere had “no apologies but due courage of our conviction that Nigeria can only prosper in righteousness,” reiterated that, “To keep Nigeria one, everyone should be Obi/Datti compliant,” and advocated that that should be the slogan henceforth.

https://punchng.com/why-afenifere-wont--tinubu-atiku-adebanjo/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2hQ11Bie9IImiH1KEag-h8vcMYeQSMw749xOWU5JYn9ovntWWdj5YSLSs#Echobox=1664204823

May the gods of our Land continue to bless your wisdom Sir and your direct descendants. The popular dictum of * who comes to Equity must come with clean hands* Nigeria is Suffering heavily today cause it hasn't truly corrected the injustice of 1967-- 1970. No sane human being will keep advocating that a major tripod stand amongst the 3 ,, be neglected in the power equation and still expect the house to keep standing Solidly. Never!!

Wow.... Impressive

Tinubu is unfit to be president and Nigerians are tired of APC

mods, please, do your research to comfirm this, because it is front page worthy.

E don happen

Are Afenifere reliable before. What's their significance in the scheme of politics. How many politicians have payed obeisance to them. Though we don't want Tinubu but these old people should go and sit down. Nigeria will decide the way to go.

A man's enemy are of his own household.

Enemies within are the most dangerous

Tinubu's and Atiku's presidential ambition represents

T hieves
I njustice
N otorious gangs
U nfitness
B oko-Haram
U nderground looting

A gbada thieves
T errorism
I njustice
K leptomaniacs
U nder performance


Only an enemy of humanity will such presidency

This is the problem when as an elder you placed yourself above all your subject without consciousness of their views or feelings hereby allowing only your emotions to control you. This Baba Don missed road. Obi will be 2nd Runner up in the Sw come February.

Peter Obi is the next President of Nigeria

It is simple common sense

Anybody against this is just a tribalist

Baba talk small small before Yekini does to you what was done to F. Williams...

He can do anything for his ambition including sending 50million inexperienced youths to face Shettima's boys

urchins right now

OYO.
We are still in a democracy. Everyone will contest and a winner will emerge. No one will leave the race for another because of "equity".

Baba adebanjo Atiku is coming know this and know peace

Story for the gods, who ask this one sha na him get him mouth.

And sum idiotttt what this old man to lead them for another 8 yrs after Bubu.


Poverty is a disease

Does he truly lives Igbo to that extent or just showing his hatred as usual.

God has the final say.

Throwback: Buhari Thank Those Who Campaigned For Him On Social media in 2015
APC are Hypocrites for condemning Obidients on social media.

Th

APC has no reason to come back to power. The same people that foisted Buhari on Nigerians are also the same people that are about to foist another calamity on Nigerians again. Nigerians, if you vote for Tinubu-APC-muslim-muslim ticket, then according to Tinubu statement, he said he will continue where Buhari stopped.
The worst people are the eminent Nigerian elite who keep silent and refuse to speak truth to power. Shame on you.

Gbágam...!


Pa Adebanjo is the latest IPOB member.
For standing on justice and truth, your generation will prosper in righteousness!

Tears go full everywhere here today

You have spoken well sir and God will bless you immensely


Btw expect wailing and gnashing of teeth by apc zombies

Lollest lol.
Afenifere and their generals without troops.

PDP in calamity...


God keeps making things easier for APC


.

This was the initial reason why I wanted a president from the Igbo extraction... they have been marginalized for too long....

No matter their history, they can never be as worse as buhari, they deserve to be there..if we all believe in one Nigeria...

Even as an Isoko man I love this baba with all my heart. He has seen at all since the days of Awo and is never afraid to speak truth to power. I hope he lives long enough to see a restructured Nigeria.

Chai

Which pipu Afenifere dey press their mumu button?

...but why are my people rallying round Obi and never said anything about Ifeanyi Okowa, despite him also being an Igbo?

So, "Nka bu nka anyi" no reach Delta Igbo?