Afenifere Faction That Endorsed Buhari For Second Term Are Comedians, Not Our Members – Odumakin

Buhari’s Endosement Didn’t Come From Our Known Members

The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, led by Reuben Fasoranti, has denounced the endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari by a faction of the group.

An Afenifere faction led by Ayo Fasanmi endorsed Mr Buhari’s re-election bid in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Tuesday.

Naija News understands that the faction on Tuesday said it was endorsing the president because he had performed well in leading the country in the last three years and a half.

The afenifere that adopts Buhari/Osibajo are impostors – Yinka Odumakin.

Me: why worrying urself again, after the election Yorubas will determine who is d authentic btw ur own group and Fasanmi group!

Just like this👇, u can't be trusted! pic.twitter.com/MhmoDlaqQx

— General OLOMU17 (@ebony1777) January 29, 2019

The event was attended by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; the Deputy Governor of Lagos and Osun States, Idiat Adebule and Yetunde Onanuga, and a former minister, Demola Seriki, who represented Mr Tinubu.

In his reaction to the endorsement, the spokesman of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said that the faction represents the face of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, whose antagonism against the Afenifere was well known.

Mr Odumakin said the event was attended by persons who had no history in Afenifere.

“They are just comedians,” he said. “The only shame is that the vice president has degenerated to the point of going to sit among such people and fêting them in the name of Afenifere.

“All those that attended the event, none of them is of Afenifere, and that shows that the integrity of the vice president cannot be trusted.

“Osinbajo is Awolowo’s son-in-law. In the last 30 years, nobody saw him at remembrance once, and now he is sitting and parading himself as Afenifere. For 30 years we have been celebrating Awolowo’s remembrance, he was never there once.

“It is a shame. They are comedians, they are jokers; they are free to call themselves Miyetti Allah if they like. If they have pedigree, or names to rely on, why can’t they answer their names? They can call themselves Miyetti Allah South West.”

Mr Odumakin noted the group had no other person with a history of Afenifere other than Mr Fasanmi, who he said only had links with it over 10 years ago.

The faction had earlier described the Reuben Fasoranti-led Afenifere as a group of usurpers who do not represent the aspirations of the Yoruba people.

Afenifere said he should make his assets declaration public as he promised. It's as simple as that

— #immediatepasteurochamps (@lozzyfather) January 30, 2019

Speaking after one of the faction’s meetings in Ibadan recently, its spokesman, Biodun Akin-Fasae, said his group was the authentic Afenifere being led by a long time member of the group.

“Yoruba is not divided, there are not so many Afeniferes. Yoruba is a nation and even during the time of Baba Awolowo, there were dissent voices, so we are not embarrassed,” Mr Akin-Fasae said.

“Our group is led by the longest living senator in Nigeria, Pa Ayo Fasanmi, and you can see everybody there including Sen. Biyi Durojaiye, Dr Omololu Olunloyo, Baba Olusi and many others in Yorubaland who are not renegades with us.

“There was no time Afenifere has not been a socio-political organisation. It is a socio-cultural and political organisation and that is just the full name of Afenifere.

“Those who claim to be in the other group of Afenifere, none of them has ever contested an election. The fact is there for all to see. So, they don’t have any mandate.

“It is our Afenifere that we are talking here that has the mandate of the Yoruba people and you will see them here on the day.”