A Pan -Yoruba Socio-cultural group, Afenifere Renewal Group(ARG), has appealed to Yoruba voters to support the reelection of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 presidential poll, saying eight years reign of the current government is non- negotiable on account of the existing Northern and Southern rotational convention.
The body maintained that allowing President Tinubu to lead the country for eight years remained the most profitable step for Nigerians to be able to complete the restructuring processes and and save the nation from undue internal crisis and instability.
These were contained in communiqué issued at the end of its extended meeting held on Tuesday in Ao Ekiti and jointly signed by its State Coordinator, Elder Bunmi Awotiku and Public Relations Officer, Prince Michael Ogungbemi.
Taking a bold step to mobilise support for Tinubu’s second term ambition, ARG endorsed the President Bola and appealed to Yoruba voters and other Nigerians considered as political allies and soulmates to vote massively for the him to protect the cord of unity and balance the nation’s political algorithms between the North and the South.
Justifying that the advocacy was not Prebendal nor borne out of ethnic chauvinism , ARG lauded the federal Government for initiating economic restructuring that had freed more resources to the subnational through prompt removal of the corruption- laden fuel subsidy to prosecute life-changing projects.
The political group added that total removal of the sleaze called subsidy had salvaged many states from financial dire straits causing excessive borrowing and inabilities to meet pressing financial commitments.
It praised President Tinubu’s uncommon zeal to secure the country by taking radical political steps through decentralisation of the country’s Army Bases to regions to be able to withstand the raging and swirling insecurity in the facets of killings, banditry and kidnapping.
“President Tinubu spearheaded the State Police Bill to empower the States to set up their own security networks to tame the behemoths constituting threats to the lives of the citizens. This was an uncommon courage from a leader who meant well for the people”.
The ARG saluted the President for actualising the Local Government autonomy for the 774 councils across the country, after several years of agitations, saying this had helped in bringing governance closer to the grassroots and extend projects that were of tremendous benefit to the rural areas.
In the area of education, ARG commended the President over the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund(NELFUND) codenamed Students’ loan to help the students from poor backgrounds acquire higher education, describing this as a masterstroke that had changed the face of education in Nigeria.
“President Tinubu must be allowed to complete his two terms tenure of eight years, to protect and preserve the sactity of Nigeria’s unity and balance the North-South dichotomy.
“The President has done exceptionally well for Nigerians, particularly the Yoruba race that had been sidelined in the past by reconstructing several road networks , and funding of Regional Commission for the western Nigeria, among others. In fact, he deserves our support and our votes in 2027”.
To preserve the respect of the region in terms of trade and investment, ARG appealed to Patriots from Southwest Region to stop selling their ancestral lands under any guise, warning that such action was eroding their territorial integrity and the prestigious legacy of forefathers that needed to be protected.
“To correct the foregoing, the State Houses of Assembly in Southwest should enact laws that will review ownership and lifespan of purchased ancestral lands from 100 to 49 years”.
The body said member are enthusiastically awaiting further directives from the ARG founding fathers in the proposed dissolution and fusion of all Pan-Yoruba socio cultural groups into one umbrella body to strengthen the bond of unity among Yoruba people and give them a loud voice in national conversations.