Afenifere: Adebanjo Fights Back Says Fasoranti Has No Power To Sack Him As Leader

True to the speculations of some members of the Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, that the group’s acting leader Chief Ayo Adebanjo will fight back against the decision of Pa Reuben Fasoranti to remove him as leader of the group, the aforementioned has taken a step.

Pa Fasoranti had yesterday declared that henceforth, the group’s meeting will hold in his Akure residence and not Adebanjo’s residence in Ijebu, which members of the group said suggested the removal of Adebanjo.

This is because Afenifere has a longstanding tradition of holding leadership meetings at the country home of its leaders.

Following Fasoranti’s declaration, Adebanjo has fought back saying he (Fasoranti) doesn’t have any power to remove him as leader of the group because he is just like an ordinary member of the organisation now.

According to Adebanjo, Fasoranti by the organisation’s constitution or otherwise doesn’t have any right over the say of the group because he has resigned.

Naija News reports that Adebanjo in a Punch newspaper report noted that since Fasoranti handed over power to him, he has become the de facto leader of Afenifere, adding that he, therefore, has no authority whatsoever to remove him as the leader.

Adebanjo advanced that it’s unfortunate that Fasoranti is being led astray in his old age to make himself a laughing stock.

The Afenifere leader, who noted that the organisation is not a monarchy submitted that “He has no right, constitutionally or otherwise, to do so. He’s functus officio (no longer in office.) He has resigned and is just an ordinary member of the party.

“Once he has handed over to me, I am the de facto leader of Afenifere. I won’t make it a controversy at all. Let him test his position wherever.

“Where does he derive his authority? Is Afenifere a monarchy? It’s a pity that in his old age he’s being led astray.

“He has no right to say anything about Afenifere, he has resigned. All the powers and authorities of Afenifere have been vested in me. That’s what I’m saying. I’ve never heard of where somebody who resigned from a political party and said he was coming back again.

“Have you heard of somebody who is out of a process now saying he’s coming back again? It’s a pity he’s making himself a laughing stock,” Adebanjo said.

“Part of the crisis rocking Afenifere involves the location where the organisation’s future meetings will be held,” he added.

However, Fasoranti in a recent interview with Impact TV Africa, categorically stated that he neither resigned nor retired as the leader of Afenifere.

Fasoranti said “I didn’t resign or retire from leadership. I was misunderstood. I think the best thing is to correct that,” he said, stressing that he was still the leader of Afenifere.

Fasoranti in the interview furthered that the group’s choice of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu is the final.

He said, “As you can see, the trend, the approval and the acceptability. You could see what happened when Tinubu came to meet me in Akure. The media carried the whole thing.

“Adebanjo does not have the capacity to warn me not to welcome Tinubu. Can he do that successfully?

“What happened was that Adebanjo took a stand and I took a stand. I didn’t call him and he didn’t call me. We never spoke about the visit.

“As you saw yesterday, it goes without saying that Jagaban was accepted. Obi has no stand in our mind at all.”

Afenifere’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, told the Punch that he was not aware that Fasoranti said the Afenifere meeting would henceforth be held in Akure.

He said, “To be honest with you, I am not aware of that,” adding that there was no crisis in the group

Asked further about the brewing crisis in the group, the spokesman said there was none.

Meanwhile, Naija News reported yesterday that Fasoranti had disclosed intentions to move the group meeting back to his residence in Akure, the Ondo state capital.

He said “Yes, that’s the best. The reason the meeting was shifted from here was a misunderstanding, misinterpretation and misconception of some people that I was going senile and that I couldn’t comprehend. So, when I heard that, I reacted and the person who said that regretted saying so. So, no problem.”

Follow Us On Google Journalistic Standards