Bola Tinubu’s support by the leaders of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation Afenifere has been called into question by the presidential spokesman for the Atiku/Okowa campaign, Dr. Daniel Bwala.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, Tinubu received the support of various South West leaders, including Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the leader of the Afenifere.
At a meeting he had with the group’s founders at Fasoranti’s home in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, Tinubu got their support.
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Pa Ayo Adebanjo and Chief Sola Ebiseni, the group’s secretary general, weren’t present for the meeting, though.
But in response to the endorsement, Bwala claimed in a statement that Adebanjo and others’ absence was proof that the endorsement was flawed.
He also criticized the Afenifere leaders for only inviting Tinubu to an occasion where they could have invited front-runner candidates and heard about their aspirations for the nation.
“In what seem like the crawling of a rat at night to steal meat from the pot, Tinubu paid a strange visit to Pa Fatoramti; strange because it was not an organized setting of the usual meeting of the highly respected Afenifere; needless to say the leader of the group Pa Adebanjo and the secretary were obviously absent when he went to in a Gestapo manner.
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“First off, the Afenifere we know has through their leader made known their position as to who they support and it was certainly not Tinubu. Secondly, if it were a meeting seeking to know the right person to support or endorse amongst the candidates it ought to have at least invited the leading candidates to hear their take on what plans they have for the country that caters to the interests of Afenifere.”
Bwala also described Tinubu as a “tribal evangelist”. He said the former Lagos State governor’s comment that he “would bring the trophy home” at the meeting was a “clear ethnic insinuations and divisive remarks”.
The statement read, “So to Tinubu, the race to become the president of Nigeria is a trophy to be won and taken to his ethnic enclave. He was not only wrong in his tribal insinuation that not a single Yoruba opposed the ticket, but he also lied because lots of Yorubas took strong objections to the same faith ticket and to his divisive and religious politics.
“To say that his ticket is supported by all Yorubas is, to say the least disingenuous, false, and condemnable.
“Tinubu has made no secret about his tribal championship and utter disregard for other ethnic people in southern Nigeria. This to say the least is sad and terribly troubling and Nigerians should rise and condemn this rhetoric at the polls.”
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