- says Tinubu, others ‘not part of us’
By Banji Ayoola
The pan Yoruba socio political group, Afenifere has described the group which, in its name, on Tuesday, in Ibadan, endorsed the second term bid of President Muhammadu Buhari as impostors, and not its members.
In a statement by its spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin, the group described those who met and declared Afenifere’s purported endorsement as followers of All Progressives Congress, APC, National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who, it said, cannot lay claim to Afenifere membership.
Categorically, the statement said that the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo and Tinubu, do not belong to Afenifere.
It said: “Afenifere is compelled to make this once and for all denunciation of a group of Tinubu followers, who assembled in Ibadan yesterday (Tuesday) to abuse the name of Afenifere the way Yahoo boys do on the internet claiming to be what they are not to engage in fraudulent activities.
“We say without equivocation that minus Senator Ayo Fasanmi, who had a past connection with Afenifere till 2003 and Senator Olabiyi Durojaye, who is presently an employee of Buhari, all the others at the summit including Prof Yemi Osinbajo have never been known in Afenifere.
“If these are Afenifere, they would never have gathered for Buhari’s endorsement in any part of Yorubaland on a day the The Nigerian Tribune, the legacy of Awolowo who is the founder of Afenifere was being relaunched.
“The disdain of this group for Awo’s legacy is exemplified by the fact that Vice President Osinbajo was in attendance.
“Here is a man married to Awo’s grand daughter but has absented himself from Awo’s remembrance activities for over three decades.
“He has never been at an Afenifere meeting for once in his life. He has busied himself in recent years, tearing Awo’s thoughts into pieces to impress his masters that he is married into Awo family but he is not of his school of thoughts.”
It added: added: “The godfather of this fake group is, of course, Bola Tinubu who was made governor by Afenifere in 1999 when his real character was not known.
“We tell the Tinubu followers that we don’t deny them the right to support Buhari. If they call themselves South-West Miyetti Allah, it worries us not. They should only stop the fraudulent claim to Afenifere.”

