Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, no fewer than 121 pan-Yoruba groups have endorsed presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
The endorsement was announced at the end of the meeting of the groups held in Lagos with no fewer than 1,500 delegates representing various groups endorsing the former Lagos State governor.
The meeting was held under the auspices of the Alliance of Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM).
The AYDM said Nigeria once again is at a crossroads, adding that "the troubled two-century-old history is being put to historic test come February 2023 when Nigerians will go to the poll to choose a president that will steer the affairs of Africa's most populous country."
Daily Trust reports that the group's position negates the stance of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, which initially endorsed the candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, as its preferred candidate.
The endorsement of Tinubu by the 121 groups is an indication of the festering division in the Yoruba leaders on who to support in 2023.
In a declaration signed by its General Secretary, Popoola Ajayi, which was made available to our correspondent, yesterday, the groups explained that in choosing Tinubu, they considered "many factors."
These include the capacity and political sagacity of the candidate; the rich history in anti-fascist campaign of the 1980s through the 1990s, the possession of raw courage, liberal investment in pro-democracy struggle, a tradition of tolerance for dissent and above all, the ability to transform and reengineer the current APC as a political party likely to provide the impetus that will lead to the restructuring of Nigeria, being the minimum condition necessary for the growth and prosperity of the country."
The groups include Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC New Era), South West Progressive Youths and Peoples Movement, Covenant Group, O'odua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC), Nigerian Automobile Technicians Association, South West, ANACOWA representing all okada riders in the South West, Okun Progressive Peoples Union, (OPPU), Oodua Descendants Union (ODU) in Ivory Coast, and Yoruba Peoples Union in Ghana, Kwara Progressives Alliance (KPA), among others.
