Leaders of the apex Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, have agreed to resolve the crisis in the organisation following the contentious endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and his All Progressives Congress counterpart, Bola Tinubu, by the two leaders of the association.
The PUNCH gathered on Thursday a four-man committee comprising a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae; Senator Femi Okurounmu; an ex-Minister of Communications, Chief Cornelius Adebayo and the Afenifere Secretary-General, Bashorun Sehinde Arogbofa would meet with the Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti and the acting leader of the group, Pa Ayo Adebanjo to resolve the rift.
The National Organising Secretary of Afenifere, Kole Omololu confirmed the peace move to one of our correspondents in a telephone interview in Lagos.
But while Omololu asserted that a reconciliation meeting would be held at Fasoranti’s residence in Akure, an Afenifere chieftain and former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, said she was not aware of any meeting scheduled for Akure.
The schism in the socio-cultural association emerged when Adebanjo, one of the leaders of Afenifere, endorsed the LP presidential candidate, saying it was the turn of the South-East to rule the country.
He said, “It is only Peter Obi that can rule independently without the influence of these criminals in the government. Tinubu will only give continuity to Buhari’s incompetence. We know Peter Obi very well, that’s why we endorsed him. He will not disappoint Nigerians, let’s put tribal differences apart and vote the right leader in.’’
But last Sunday, the APC presidential candidate visited Fasoranti’s home in Akure, the Ondo State capital, where he presented his manifesto to the Afenifere leader and also secured the endorsement of the elder statesman.
After praying for the former Lagos State governor, the nonagenarian declared that Tinubu would win the 2023 election.
He said, “It is only Peter Obi that can rule independently without the influence of these criminals in the government. Tinubu will only give continuity to Buhari’s incompetence. We know Peter Obi very well, that’s why we endorsed him. He will not disappoint Nigerians, let’s put tribal differences apart and vote the right leader in.’’
But last Sunday, the APC presidential candidate visited Fasoranti’s home in Akure, the Ondo State capital, where he presented his manifesto to the Afenifere leader and also secured the endorsement of the elder statesman.
After praying for the former Lagos State governor, the nonagenarian reportedly declared that Tinubu would win the 2023 election.
Fasoranti said he remained the leader of Afenifere while dismissing the claim that the group had endorsed Peter Obi but Adebanjo, who took over from the Afenifere leader in March 2021 criticised the visit.
Shedding light on the moves to address the differences between the two Yoruba elders, Omololu assured that the issues would soon be thrashed out, insisting that there was no crisis in the association.
He stated, “Baba never sacked the acting leader, Pa Adebanjo. The acting leader will still be the one calling the meeting and the meeting will still be held at the leader’s place.
Consultations ongoing
“Consultation is the hallmark of Afenifere; all the leaders will still consult with each other. We have six leaders who make Afenifere, we call them the national leaders. They are at the peak; they are above the exco, they are above the caucus and the general meeting.
“If these six sit down and decide, that is the end. Anybody saying any other thing does not know Afenifere. These six will sit very soon and iron things out. Four of them were present in Akure, only two were absent.”
According to him, the report that Fasoranti had sacked Adebanjo was untrue, declaring that he remained the acting leader of the association.
Fasoranti, in a statement issued by his Personal Assistant, Mr Adedapo Abiola, earlier on Thursday, said he never stopped Adebanjo from being the acting leader of the group and also faulted the media report on the matter.
Speaking further on the situation, the Afenifere organizing secretary stated that Adebanjo would call a meeting of the group at his convenience as the leader of the association.
“There is no crisis to resolve in the first instance. The acting leader is the acting leader, he would call a meeting at his discretion. What the leader (Fasoranti) is saying is that the meeting will be held in Akure and he is not just saying it, that is just our tradition and also that is what every member wants.
“There is no crisis that one leader is holding onto one candidate or another leader endorsing another candidate. I think we should leave that to when people get to the polling booth, they know what to do. It is just for these leaders to give a moral direction.”
Omololu explained that the Yoruba group had always held its meetings at the residence of its leaders.
Explaining how Akure became Afenifere’s secretariat, he said, “When you look at it, right from Papa Ajasin’s days, meetings were held at his place in Owo; while we had an acting leader in place, everybody travelled to Owo for meetings. After the death of Baba Ajasin, the meeting moved to Ijebu Igbo at the residence of Baba Adesanya and it is now in Akure at the residence of Baba Fasoranti. That is what baba is saying.
“I think there is gross misinterpretation in what the leader said. The acting leader is still the acting leader. He is still in charge. Only that meeting will be held in Akure. He never said the acting leader was sacked. He never used that word and he would never use that word. In the tradition of Afenifere, meetings are always held at the residence of the leader, I think that is what he said, he never said the acting leader is sacked.”
Similarly, a former Afenifere secretary, Okurounmu, assured that the crisis would soon be resolved.
Responding to questions from one of our correspondents in Abeokuta on Thursday, the former chairman of the 13–member Advisory Committee on National Conference explained that ‘’the elders are on the crisis and would soon resolve it.’’
He, however, declined to disclose the venue of the proposed reconciliation meeting.
