Afenifere makes crucial decision ahead of 2019, reveals the candidate it will endorse for president

macfranc007 October 14, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Kess Ewubare

- A Yoruba socio-political group in the southern part of Nigeria, Afenifere, says President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has not shown any intention to restructure the country since 2015

- Afenifere states that it tried to reach the president about the issue through some governors from the southwest who are close to him, but did not get any response from the presidency

- The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), an umbrella body for elders and leaders of the various ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta region, says its position on restructuring of the country has not changed

A Yoruba socio-political group in the southern part of Nigeria, Afenifere, has stated that it would support the presidential candidate of any political party that has the intention to restructure Nigeria.

Yinka Odumakin, the spokesperson for Afenifere, told The Punch in an interview published on Sunday, October 14, that while President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had not shown any intention to restructure the country since 2015, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, had been consistent in that regard.

“Atiku has been very strong on restructuring and he has also picked a running mate (Peter Obi) who has also expressed very strong opinion about the issue of restructuring. Obi is from a zone where the people are clamouring for restructuring,” Odumakin said.

“We have reached out to the Presidency through some of the governors who are close to him (Buhari) from the South-West.

“We drafted a list of leaders across Nigeria that the President should summon across Nigeria to discuss the issue of restructuring. Many months after, the governors did not get across to us probably because they met a brick wall.

“There is a consensus among leaders of the South-West, South-East, South-South, the Middle Belt and Arewa. We have said we will wait for the consensus candidate that would be produced by the CUPP to enable us to make our choice among the candidates.”

PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News Anywhere 24/7. Spend less on the Internet!

Similarly, an apex socio-political body of the Igbo, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Sunday, October 14, told the Punch that it was ready to back any presidential candidate who showed sincere intention to restructure Nigeria on assuming office.

This position was also corroborated by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), an umbrella body for elders and leaders of the various ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta region, which noted that its position on restructuring of the country had not changed.

In a related report, Igbos in Nigeria have been asked by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo group to accept the choice of Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state, as running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 elections.

The appeal was made by the president general of the group, Chief Nnia Nwodo, during an interview with Vanguard on Saturday, October 13.

NAIJ.com gathers that Nwodo made the appeal in response to the feeble opposition of the Ebonyi state governor, Chief Dave Umahi, who stated that south-east leaders were not consulted before Atiku picked Obi as his running mate.

Nigeria Latest News: Buhari vs Atiku - 2019 Elections | Naij.com TV