Ahead of the 2023 general elections, prominent Yoruba political and opinion leaders have backed the presidential ambition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The support came yesterday in Ibadan, Oyo State, during a summit organised by Yoruba Patriots Movement (YPM) and attended by traditional rulers, political functionaries, prominent Nigerians and stakeholders from the Southwest states, as well as representatives of Yoruba people in Kogi, Kwara, Edo and Delta.
In his welcome address at the event with the theme, “Yoruba Nation: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, YPM’s National Coordinator, Oladosu Oladipo, said Tinubu had over time displayed his sterling leadership qualities and capacity, especially his contribution to APC’s ascendancy.
He called on the six states in the South West region to rally around the Lagos ex-governor, whom he said, had demonstrated a “pedigree of commitment to the ideals of quality leadership and welfarist programmes of the Yoruba race.”
The gathering got goodwill messages from royal fathers.
Representatives of women, youth groups, the academia and professionals, including Yoruba people in the diaspora, participated.
Attendance was enhanced by virtual participation and live streaming.
In the communiqué issued at the end of the parley, the participants resolved to work with politicians from the zone to offer genuine leadership to Nigerians at the federal level.
They are also to engage continually with the political leadership in the South West for the security and welfare of the people.
The meeting also priritised funding of the region’s security network, Amotekun, besides proper monitoring of the corps for adequate protection of the neighborhoods, hinterlands, farms and forests.
In his keynote address, Professor Adegbenga Onabamiro of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, alluded to the patriotic zeal of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who brought the ethnicity nationality to global reckoning within a short space of time.
He stressed unity as a vehicle for mobilising the full potentials of the people in the quest to move the society forward.
The don also harped on value orientation, urging the Yoruba nation to reignite love in the bid to attract to sustain followership for better democratic rule and demand.
On her part, Dr. Stella Alanson from the United States, said: “Yoruba should come together as a people that God loves. It is time for that change.”
To former House of Representatives member, Bosun Oladele, it was time for South West to take another shot at the presidency, adding that Tinubu remained the right man for the job.
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