One hundred and twenty-one pan-Yoruba civil society, community-based groups in the South-West geo-political zone, under the aegis of Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements, (AYDM), has adopted the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
The group made the declaration yesterday, during its conference held in Ikeja, Lagos State.
Taiwo Ajayi, of the South-West Progressive Youth and People Movement, who made the declaration on behalf of AYDM, said for the past three months AYDM has held a string of consultations with organised groups, socio-cultural and community-based groups spread across the South-West zone, where their people are situated.
According to him, “The Yoruba of the South-West have to make a choice in 2023, considering the better possible options. From our own prior, informed consent, and weighing the variety of choices available to the people of the region, we have to pick a candidate near the prospect of allaying our fears, as a people.
He said the AYDM considered many factors, which includes: the capacity and political sagacity of the candidate; the rich history in an anti-fascist campaign of the 1980s through the 1990s, the possession of raw courage, liberal investment in pro-democracy struggle.
“Also, a tradition of tolerance for dissent, and above all the ability to transform and re-engineer 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”.
On his part, the President of South-West Professional Forum (SOWPROF), Segun Ajibulu, in his Keynote address, said today’s event no doubt is a watershed in the history of Yoruba people, adding that it will go down in the history of the Yoruba ‘nation’ as the greatest demonstration of support for the presidential ambition of Tinubu.
According to him, the tide of the 2023 presidential election is on course, adding that “now is the time for the noble progenies of great Oduduwa to take advantage of the favourable tidal currents of the 2023 presidential election and make a statement via their ballot in favour of Tinubu”.
