Afenifere’s division over Tinubu deepens

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Afenifere’s division over Tinubu deepens

The division in Afenifere over President-elect Bola Tinubu deepened, yesterday, as Emeritus Leader of the Yoruba socio-political group, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, rejected the position of Afenifere under the leadership of Pa Ayo Adebanjo that Mr. Peter Obi won the February 25 election that produced Tinubu

The Adebanjo group had said, last week, that no one should send congratulatory messages to the president-elect under the Afenifere umbrella.

The group had, after a special general meeting held at the Isanya-Ogbo, Ogun State country home of Adebanjo, insisted that” the results of the lawful votes at the election available to the Afenifere through credible sources confirm that His Excellency Peter Gregory Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, won the said election and we thus support his decision challenging the contrary declaration by the INEC”.

Obi had contested the election on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) but Tinubu vied under the aegis of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Tinubu emerged tops after the poll, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with 8.1 million votes while Obi’s score was a little over six million votes. The Adebanjo group had supported Obi ahead of the election whereas Tinubu had the blessing of Fasoranti.

Fasoranti, the immediate past Leader of Afenifere, had, about two years ago, quit the position, citing old age and following which the Adebanjo leadership emerged.

The former Leader subsequently took the position of Emeritus Leader.

In a reaction to the Afenifere’s position taken at the Isanya-Ogun meeting, last week, Fasoranti said, yesterday, that since he’s still alive, his pronouncements on any issue remained final on behalf of group

Recall that Fasoranti had, last week, in a letter, congratulated Tinubu on his victory at the poll, assuring him of the group’s total support and asked other presidential candidates to allow the president-elect to settle down and work.

A statement signed by the immediate past Secretary-General of the group, Chief Seinde Arogbofa, in Akure, yesterday, and titled ‘Chief Dr. R. F. Fasoranti is still alive and kicking, said:

“By the Afenifere tradition, he is still the leader of Afenifere. We defer to him in line with our cherished Yoruba culture. So whatever any other member says or does after he has spoken or acted is immaterial.

“You will recall that on September 3, 2020, in an interview, I granted that some members were foisting Peter Obi as a presidential candidate on us and that Afenifere members are not robots. They are made up of intelligent people with strong convictions but occasional divergent views.

“Notwithstanding that, they are bound together by the welfare philosophy of the association. On any contentious issue, they come together as democrats to discuss and agree on a consensus.

“While the consensus becomes their public stand, those who disagree are still allowed to keep their views without necessarily making them an opposition position to the majority decision.

“I concluded by saying, ‘If elections will hold in 2023, most Afenifere members and, by extension, the right-thinking, accommodating, and unbiased Yoruba ethnic group who are in the silent majority will vote for Tinubu’.

“On March 3rd, 2023, Chief R.F. Fasoranti sent a very warm congratulatory letter, on our behalf and his own, to Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his hard-won victory in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

“That was done in line with the well-known Afenifere practice. This is where Afenifere stands: THE ORACLE HAS ACTED AND SPOKEN. Any person or group that may see things differently is free to do so as he is free to exercise his liberty.”