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Afenifere Justifies Obi’s Endorsement, Tinubu’s Team Fumes

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The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, on Monday justified its decision to back the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, for the 2023 elections.

The group’s leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, made its position known at a press conference in Lagos.

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Justifying the decision, Adebanjo said the group would not compromise the principle of justice, equity and inclusiveness because the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a Yoruba man.

He said, “The South-West has produced a President and currently sits as Vice President; the South-South has spent a total of six years in the Presidency, but the Igbo people of the South-East have never tasted presidency in Nigeria, and now that the power is due back in the South, equity demands that it be ceded to the Igbo.

“We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria while we, at the same time, continue to brutally marginalise and exclude them from the power dynamics.

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“Peter Obi is the person of Igbo extraction that Afenifere has decided to support and back; he is the man we trust to restructure the country back to federalism on the assumption of office.

“We will not compromise this principle of justice, equity and inclusiveness because one of our own, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a frontline candidate. It is on this same principle we condemn the Peoples Democratic Party for sponsoring Atiku Abubakar, a Northern Fulani Muslim to succeed General Muhammadu Buhari another Fulani Muslim.”

However, in his reaction, the APC spokesperson, Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, accused Adebanjo of promoting his agenda as the position of the pan-Yoruba group.

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Keyamo told The PUNCH on Monday that he stood by an earlier statement released by the council’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga.

READ ALSO: Knocks, FG Makes U-turn, Withdraws Order To Reopen Varsities

He said, “We stand by the statement issued yesterday (Sunday) by our campaign council media director. Afenifere is not the mouthpiece of the Yoruba. The release comprehensively addressed the matter.

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“The issue is that the Afenifere in question is just Pa Adebanjo trying to project his personal bias against Asiwaju. He is not pursuing any pan-Yoruba act of patriotism as claimed. No, he is not.

“Besides, his view is not the position of the entire Afenifere. He is just a factional member of the group. We are aware that there was no time Afenifere met to take such a decision.”

Onanuga had, in an earlier statement, described Adebanjo’s endorsement of Obi as a personal decision.

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While admitting that he is free to support anyone he likes in furtherance of his democratic right, the media director stated that the elder statesman does not speak for the Yorubas.
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PHOTO: Rivers Residents Throng Govt House To Welcome Fubara

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Rivers State’s capital is a sea of jubilant supporters on Thursday as Governor Siminalayi Fubara is expected to triumphantly return to office following the end of the state’s six-month emergency rule.

Throngs of residents, politicians, and key stakeholders have converged on the Government House in Port Harcourt, eagerly awaiting the governor’s arrival.

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The atmosphere is one of profound relief and celebration, with various groups dressed in their uniforms, standing outside the gates and anticipating the moment their leader will make his appearance.

READ ALSO:Suspected Cultists Invade Rivers Compound, Rob Students, Residents

The collective joy reflects the widespread satisfaction with the restoration of democratic governance.

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Residents who spoke with Nigerian Television Authority expressed their delight, with many voicing hope that the state will now usher in a new era of development and progress.

As the governor prepares to resume his duties, all eyes are on the renewed promise of stability and accelerated development for the people of Rivers State.

Although the governor has yet to arrive at the Government House, various groups clad in their uniforms are standing outside the gate, anticipating his arrival”, NTA report indicated.

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Residents of the state who spoke with NTA News expressed satisfaction over the restoration of democratic rule in the state, expressing hope that the state would now witness more development.

 

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Rivers: Supporters Disappointed As Fubara Fails To Show Up

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Thousands of supporters who had thronged the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Thursday morning to welcome Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, went home disappointed after waiting for hours.

Many of the supporters, who came as early as 6 a.m. from different parts of the state, including rural areas, started leaving the Government House entrance between 12 noon and 1 p.m.

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Some of their leaders, including the immediate past local government chairmen loyal to Fubara, were seen making frantic calls as the whereabouts of the governor remained unknown as of 1 p.m.

Among the sacked LG chairmen who led their supporters to the Government House in anticipation of the governor’s return were the former chairman of Obio/Akpor, Chijoke Ihunwo, and his counterpart from Port Harcourt City, Ezebunwo Itche-Mati, among others.

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Meanwhile, none of the supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, were seen at the Government House, including the newly elected LG chairmen.

Some of those seen leaving the Government House gate expressed frustration over the governor’s absence after waiting for several hours.

“We are going because we are hungry. Maybe when the governor comes, we will return,” one of them said.

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The development coincided with the expiration of the six-month emergency rule imposed on the state following the hostilities between the governor and the Assembly, which is largely controlled by loyalists of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.

President Bola Tinubu in March declared an end to the State of Emergency in Rivers State, following months of political turmoil that paralysed governance and threatened security in the oil-rich state.

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The President had appointed Ibas as administrator after dissolving political structures to restore order.

However, Tinubu, on Wednesday, formally declared an end to the State of Emergency in Rivers State, clearing the way for the return of full democratic governance in the state.

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JUST IN: Rivers Assembly Resumes Sitting After Six-month Suspension

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The Rivers State House of Assembly has resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Thursday.

President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara; his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.

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The plenary is being presided by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule,at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: Rivers Administrator Ibas Bows Out, Hands Over To Governor Fubara

The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.

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The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex.

On March 18, Tinubu declared emergency rule in the oil-rich state in the wake of a prolonged political crisis arising from the rift between Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

More to come…

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