Leading Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere has said that the people of the South West geopolitical zone prefer restructuring of the country to the promise of 2023 presidency.
While the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to restructure the country if elected, some prominent members of the present administration, including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, have promised the Yoruba nation the 2023 presidency in return for supporting President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term bid in 2019.
But Afenifere said it would support restructuring over 2023 presidency.
According to the group’s spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, the APC is merely deceiving Yorubas with the promise of 2023 presidency, saying that the party made the same promise to the people of the South East geopolitical zone.
He said Afenifere preferred restructuring because it would accelerate the nation’s development.
Odumakin, who spoke to Daily Sun, said, “I assure you that even the most illiterate of South West voters understand what restructuring is because they lived their lives when the Western Region had autonomy.
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“They remember that we had the first television station; under federalism. They know that if Pa Awolowo had to go to Abuja to get a licence for a television station, the South West would probably not have had the first station. They know what it means to have free education, but, Yourba people are now beggars under this arrangement.
“Yoruba voters prefer restructuring, which would speed up development instead of a 2023 South West presidency which is actually a power grab for a few people.
“The 2023 promise of a South West presidency is just about the presidential ambitions of Tinubu, (Vice President Yemi) Osinbajo and (Babatunde) Fashola. President Buhari is from Katsina, yet, the governor of his state, Bello Masari, recently said Katisna has become inhabitable because it has been overrun by armed bandits.
“Why has Katisna as a whole not benefitted from the fact that their son is the president? This present presidential structure cannot benefit anybody except those who are stealing money, buying banks, telecom companies, airlines and those who, five years ago could not afford N2, 000 for transport fare but are now billionaires.”