2023: Afenifere backs South East Presidency

Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, has backed calls for the South East to produce the country’s next president, calling into question those who believe the region is unworthy of the position.

Ayo Adebanjo, the group’s leader, stated this on Politics Today on Wednesday, basing his argument on the federal character and equity. He claimed that while the South South and South West have tasted power at the center, the Igbo-dominated South East has not.

“How do you say rotation in the North and South so that when it comes to the South, it’s always South-West and South-South?” Isn’t the South East a separate region from the South? During the show, he inquired, “What is the moral we’re talking about?”

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“Hasn’t the South West been served for eight years by Obasanjo, and Osinbajo for another eight years as vice president?” The South-South has taken care of its own. Isn’t the South East a separate region from the South? That is the question we must address,” the wise man added.

According to him, the country adopted a federal character to cater for the country’s weaker regions, a move he claims has contributed to Nigerian unity.

Talking about merit in the presidential election of 2023 would jeopardize the gains made thus far, he said.

“Anyone talking about merit right now isn’t helping the country’s unity.” The question of rotation arises because of the country’s heterogeneity; to keep us together, the question of rotation arises; to accommodate ourselves as much as possible,” Adebanjo explained.

“What makes you think you can get away with it now?” Coming to the South for a presidential candidate in 2023 is a matter of equity, morality, and principle, unless we’re deceiving ourselves.”

The Afenifere leader also criticized the National Assembly’s recently passed constitutional amendment, calling it insincere.

He said a day after lawmakers voted on over 60 proposed amendments, “There is no sincerity in the amendment.”

According to him, the amendments did not carry the people along and thus were not a reflection of Nigerians’ true desires.

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“Who are the people who are proposing the change?” “Those are the beneficiaries of constitutional fraud,” he said. “How are you amending a Constitution in which you were not a participant?” Have we made it? What is our contribution? A Constitution that lies to its own people.”