2023: South East Coalition Commends Afenifere For Endorsing Peter Obi

 

The apex Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere has been commended over its support for Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of Labour Party.

 

According to Vanguard, in a move that has continued to receive local and international commendations, the Pa Ayo Adebanjo-led Afenifere declared total support for the former Governor of Anambra State, insisting that only a South East Presidency in 2023 will guarantee the unity, stability, and oneness of the Nigerian State.

 

At a world press conference in Lagos on Monday, Pa Adebanjo explained that the pan-Yoruba socio-political group’s decision was borne out of the need for justice, equity, and fair play.

 

The nonagenarian, who led other senior Yoruba leaders to the briefing, regretted that the South East was the only geo-political entity that was yet to produce a President, hence the need for all well-meaning Nigerians to support Obi, in a bid to usher in a New Nigeria.

 

“We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria, while we at the same time continue to brutally marginalise and excluded them from the power dynamics”, Adebanjo stated.

 

He, therefore, condemned the Frontline parties for not considering the South East in their equation, saying: ‘A Northern Fulani Muslim to succeed General Muhammadu Buhari, another Fulani Muslim, who will soon complete eight years of uneventful and disastrous rule. One can imagine such a high degree of political insensitivity”.

 

In a spontaneous reaction, the Coalition of South-East Professional Network in Nigeria and Diaspora (CSEPNND), thanked Afenifere for her consistency, saying Ndigbo will never be ungrateful for the bold and courageous position which, it noted, aligned with common sense and valued judgement

 

The coalition made the disclosures in a statement, Tuesday, by its National President Prof Chika Madumere

“We make bold to say that, when the history of a New Nigeria is written, Afenifere and the entire yoruba nation will occupy a pride of place, for refusing to maintain silence in the face of injustice, exclusion, and tortuous alienation”, the group said.

 

It continued: “About forty seven years after the much-touted “no-victor-no-vanquished declaration, the South East has continued to suffer alienation, exclusion, and relegation.