The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has denied endorsing any political coalition, describing recent reports linking it to a new alliance of opposition parties as false and misleading.
The rebuttal follows claims that Afenifere had backed a coalition effort led by several political parties, reportedly involving a visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his Abeokuta residence over the weekend.
In a statement issued Tuesday by Jare Ajayi, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, the group firmly stated that it neither sent a delegation to Obasanjo nor made any public declaration aligning itself with the coalition movement.
“We are not denying the fact that at least two of the people in the delegation are notable Afenifere chieftains. They are Sola Ebiseni and Akin Osuntokun,” the statement read.
Ajayi clarified that both individuals were heavily involved in the Peter Obi 2023 presidential campaign, and their participation in the recent coalition visit was personal, not representative of Afenifere.
“It is on record that Osuntokun was the person who took over as Campaign Director of Peter Obi’s Presidential Campaign Council when late Doyin Okupe resigned from that position.
Ebiseni was the South-West Coordinator of the same council,” he added.
He further emphasized that the presence of other individuals at the meeting, such as John Ughulu and Folaseye Adabayo, the Lagos State Coordinator and Secretary of Peter Obi’s Campaign Council respectively, made it clear that the delegation was not acting on behalf of Afenifere.
“The principal, Obi, has been reported to be in the ADC Coalition presently. It is therefore logical that his supporters would be justifying the coalition,” Ajayi stated.
The group reaffirmed its non-partisan stance, noting that while it may occasionally support certain political viewpoints, it remains a broad-based Yoruba interest group that represents all Yoruba people, not just those involved in partisan politics.
“Afenifere is not against any political group. But it is not in cahoots with any political party since it is non-partisan politically. Afenifere is for all the Yorubas. As we all know, not all Yoruba people are in politics.”
“Even those who are in politics do not necessarily belong to the same political party. As such, Afenifere cannot afford to be politically partisan,” the statement read.
However, Ajayi noted that Afenifere continues to support any political or social direction that aligns with its values, especially those that promote national unity and progress.
“But since it has a political view, it can support a (socio-political) standpoint that aligns with its own position at any given time.”
He added that the organisation remains focused on nation-building efforts and supports the Federal Government’s initiatives aimed at improving the country.
“Talking about coalition or no-coalition is, therefore, a distraction that we cannot afford,” Ajayi concluded.
