By Lanre Oloyede
A group of Northern elders under the auspices of Arena New Agenda, ANA, has faulted a statement credited to the factional leader of Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, stating that the North will betray the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, in the February 25 presidential election.
According to ANA, Chief Adebanjo, the factional leader of Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-cultural group, had on Saturday in Abeokuta made the remark that the north will not vote for the Presidential candidate of APC Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the forthcoming 2023 Presidential election.
Addressing a press conference Thursday, ANA, led by its leader and convener, Sen. Ahmad Abubakar MoAllahyidi, stressed that Pa Adebanjo lacked the mandate to speak on behalf of the North as its spokesperson.
Sen. MoAllahyidi noted that the north has never failed to keep to its promise; insisting that when the north makes a covenant, the north keeps to it.
He reminded Pa Adebanjo of his earlier statement where he said former president Olusegun Obasanjo is not a true Yoruba man, noting that the North played a major role in voting him as president despite his rejection by the entire Southwest.
The ANA leader maintained that the North remains the strongest ally of Asiwaju in the contest for the 2023 APC presidential primaries in the same manner that the South West was ally for the victory of the APC in the last two election cycles.
“In the APC Presidential primaries of 2022, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu scored 1,271votes more than half of the total votes cast in the convention to win the primaries, majority of these votes come from the north; the same north that Pa Ayo said will not support Tinubu, made him (Tinubu) the presidential candidate.
“Northern Governor of APC extraction led the charge for power shift from the north to the south; something the likes of Pa Ayo were unable to do simply because to make a covenant and keep to it is a mark of integrity which in short supply here.
“Pa Ayo, is not a northerner, and we cannot remember when we northerners appointed him to convey a message to any one; therefore, his assertion as widely reported is not only false but unfounded and can be better seen as the action of a meddlesome interloper or on a lighter scale the antics of a busy body.
“Given what is unfolding in the South West today Pa Ayo’s attempt to justify his position by saying that his submission is based on fairness justice and equity is indeed laughable because it was said that whoever is coming to equity must come with clean hands.
” Records have shown that every presidential candidate that Pa Ayo opposes ended up winning the election- Asiwajus’s case will not be different
Just because Pa Ayo has some differences with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu does not in any way means that the Yoruba race think the same, as we have our doubts that he has the mandate to speak for the Yoruba.
“We warn that this is the time for high wire political activities that usually culminates into tension and suspicion; we call for restrain in all utterances. From our research Pa Ayo’s statement was not driven by any nationalist instinct or principle; it is just a personal vendetta against the personality of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We advise Pa Ayo to stop taking advantage of Yoruba culture of respect to pursue a very myopic, narrow minded and selfish political vendetta, this a pure act of mischief and malice.
“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has visited many States in the North, made policy statements and made a committal promises to us, if GOD Almighty gives him the opportunity to serve as our next president, we the northerners will hold him accountable to that,” ANA averred.
Arewa New Agenda, ANA, is a forum of concern northerners comprising of academics, serving and former legislators, diplomas, technocrats, development practitioners, women and youth leaders, politicians, artisans, traders and farmers, positioning to set an agenda for protection of the interest of the North.
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