A pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, has disowned the reported endorsement of
President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office by some of its
members, stating that it was done by impostors.
The group denounced the purported endorsement in Ibadan, Oyo State
capital on Tuesday, saying those involved in the act, including
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Chief Ayo Fasanmi and Senator Olabiyi
Durojaye, were not Afenifere members.
The organisation’s National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, in a
statement, described those involved in the ceremony as historical
renegades.
He said, “We ordinarily would not respond to a gathering of historical
renegades but for the sake of the unwary who may have been confused by
the nefarious action of these impostors.
“We say without equivocation that minus Senator Ayo Fasanmi, who had a
past connection with Afenifere till 2003 and Senator Olabiyi Durojaye,
who is presently an employee of Buhari, all the others at the summit
including Prof Yemi Osinbajo have never been known in Afenifere.
“If these are Afenifere, they would never have gathered for Buhari’s
endorsement in any part of Yorubaland on a day the Nigerian Tribune, the
legacy of Obafemi Awolowo who is the founder of Afenifere, was being
relaunched.”
Odumakin accused Osinbajo of showing disdain for Awolowo’s legacy by
being absent from the late sage’s remembrance activities for over three
decades, despite being married to Awolowo’s grand-daughter.
He added, “The godfather of this fake group is, of course, Bola Tinubu
who was made governor by Afenifere in 1999 when his real character was
not known.
“We tell the Tinubu followers that we don’t deny them the right to
support Buhari. If they call themselves South-West Miyetti Allah, it
worries us not. They should only stop the fraudulent claim to
Afenifere.”
