Afenifere, Groups Meet Obasanjo, Advocate Rotational Presidency

The Pan Yoruba Socio Political Group, Afenifere, alongside some other socio-political groups in Nigeria, has insisted that only a broad-based coalition has respect for the established regional rotational presidency.

The groups, which had earlier met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo earlier in the week, expressed their support for a broad-based grand coalition of opposition political groups to save the country from drifting to a one-party state.

This was contained in a statement yesterday by the secretary-general of Afenifere, Chief Sola Ebiseni, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The statement disclosed that the delegation, led by Ebiseni himself as the Afenifere secretary-general, met Obasanjo alongside other political groups, which included the one led by Obasanjo’s former political adviser, Akin Osuntokun; the duo of the secretary of the 2023 Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Folaseye Adabayo and the Lagos State coordinator, John Ughulu.

He said, the delegation was well-received by the former president at his Abeokuta private residence, where they went into a closed door conversation on the state of the nation.

Ebiseni said the coalition was a welcome development “against the troubling tendency of a one-party state.

“The APC emerged as a coalition which in 2013, aligned itself with the popular sentiment of regional rotation and strategically settled for a president of Northern origin by which Buhari succeeded Jonathan.

“Afenifere and other groups including the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum and the Southern Governors were in the forefront insisting uncompromisingly that only a president of Southern origin would succeed Buhari after eight years as we have it today.

“The fact speaks for itself that there can be no serious proposition today against the fullness of the eight-year tenure of the South. It is not about individual political actors or parties. It is a consensus for regional mutual respect and national political stability,” he said.

Also, the former political adviser to Obasanjo, Chief Akin Osuntokun, said they had a deep conversation with Obasanjo on the state of the nation.

“We are honoured for that deep conversation with Baba on the state of the nation in spite of his very tight schedule,” he said.