The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka
Odumakin, says the Yoruba socio-political group considers certain conditions
before declaring support for presidential candidates.
Odumakin highlighted some of the considerations while
speaking to PUNCH on Wednesday.
According to him, being a presidential candidate from
Yorubaland does not guarantee automatic support.
Specifically, he said the National Leader of All
Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu; Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi; and
the Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church in Lagos, Pastor
Tunde Bakare, won’t get Afenifere’s support if they did not meet the criteria.
However, Tinubu, Fayemi, and Bakare are yet to officially
declare their intentions to contest; and they have not also denied reports of
their intentions to contest.
Among the conditions highlighted by Odumakin are the
candidates’ position on restructuring and other national issues.
He also hinted that the candidates must have similar views
to those of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo on governance.
He said, “For us in Afenifere, we look at matters
objectively. We look at all those who on parade, we look at what they are
offering. What is their position on key national issues? You will not earn our
support just because you are a Yoruba or Igbo man, but based on what you stand
for within the moral crisis and the failure of state that is confronting
Nigeria at the moment. How can you take Nigeria out of it? Those are the
primary considerations that will determine those that we will give our support
to.
“We have not given support for anybody at the moment. We are
watching all those that are interested, including Fayemi, Tinubu and Pastor
Bakare, and others – Yoruba and non-Yorubas. We are watching all of them. At the
appropriate time, we would take a decision.
“Like I said, where each candidate stands on the core issues, which is about restructuring Nigeria – returning Nigeria to Federalism. Nigeria is walking at the edge of failure, state failure confronts Nigeria, and to bring Nigeria back from that edge, we need to reset Nigeria back to federal status.
“Cheif Obafemi Awolowo was very strong on this all his life
– that any attempt to lead Nigeria as a unitary state will lead to failure. And
that failure is confronting Nigeria at the moment. We need to bring Nigeria
back to the path of restitution.”
He explained that Afenifere declared support for the Peoples
Democratic Party in the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections due to promises by
its candidates that they would restructure the country.
Goodluck Jonathan and Atiku Abubakar, who represented the
PDP in the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections lost to Muhammadu Buhari of the
All Progressives Congress.
Responding to why the party supported PDP in the 2015 and 2019
presidential elections, Odumakin said, “In 2007, Afenifere endorsed Buhari as
the presidential candidate of ANPP. So, whoever we endorse at any election is a
function of what they represent.
“When Afenifere endorsed Buhari, he was saying that supported
restructuring. On the two occasions (2015 and 2019) that Afenifere has endorsed
PDP, the party stood on the question of restructuring. It is not about the
party, it is a function of what they said they would do that tallies with what
we believe in.”
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