A socio-cultural and political organisation for the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Afenifere has expressed support for the South East to produce the country’s next president, noting that those opposed to Igbo Presidency are being unfair to the region.
The leader of the group, Ayo Adebanjo made this known on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He noted that coming to the South for the 2023 presidential candidate is the equity, moral, and principle.
He said, “How can you say rotation in the North and South, so when it comes to the South, it would be South-West and South-South every time? Is the South East not part of the South? What is the moral we are talking about?
“Is it not the South West that has served [through] Obasanjo for eight years, Osinbajo for another eight years as vice president? [The] South-South has served its own. Is the South East not part of the South? That is the question we should answer.
“The country adopted federal character to cater for weaker parts of the nation, a move which has helped to foster unity among Nigerians.
“Talking about merit when it comes to the 2023 presidential election would hurt the gains made so far.
“It doesn’t help the unity of this country if anybody is talking about merit now. It is because of the heterogeneity of the country; to keep us together that the question of this rotation comes in; to accommodate ourselves as much as possible.
“Why do you want to overlook that now? Coming to the South for the 2023 presidential candidate is the equity, moral, and principle, except we are deceiving ourselves.”
The Afenifere leader who also criticized the just-concluded constitutional amendment by the National Assembly said, “There is no sincerity in the amendment.
“The amendments did not carry the people along and thus were not a reflection of the true yearnings of Nigerians.
“Who are those making the amendment? Those are the beneficiaries of fraud in the Constitution. How are you amending a Constitution you didn’t take part in. Did we make it? What is our input? A Constitution that tells lies about itself.”
