… Cites coastal highway, state police, others as reasons

… Aiyedatiwa assures full integration into APC campaign structure

The Secretary-General of the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, Afenifere, Sola Ebiseni, has resigned his membership of the Labour Party and declared his support for the second term bid of President Bola Tinubu.

Ebiseni, who until his resignation was the South West Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council of Peter Obi in the 2023 general elections, made the declaration on when he led his supporters to meet with the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, at the Government House in Akure.

Aiyedatiwa, while receiving the Afenifere scribe, assured him and his supporters of full integration into the APC campaign structure for all the elections.

The governor noted that Ebiseni’s political antecedents, his experience as a former chairman of the old Ilaje-Ese-Odo Local Government, and his multiple stints as a commissioner in the state would add immense value to the campaign for the re-election of President Tinubu.

“We know you as one of our leaders in the state and your political activities across the state and your roles in the Afenifere and other sociocultural organisations in the country will be an added advantage and value to the tasks ahead of us,” the governor said.

Speaking at the meeting, Ebiseni declared his support for Tinubu’s second term, stating that he and his supporters are prepared to ensure the president’s re-election in the overall interest of the stability, development, and progress of the country.

He said, “First and foremost, and for the avoidance of any doubt, our declaration today for the President’s second term is in tandem with the views of most Nigerians and political gladiators that the office of the President should still be in southern Nigeria in the interest of the political stability of the federation.

According to him, one disastrous consequence of a change in leadership would be the revisionist economic policy of returning to the fuel subsidy regime.

“Whatever anyone may say about the removal of subsidy which all frontline presidential candidates promised in 2023, its retention would have spelt doom, particularly for the states which were already lying prostrate in the discharge of their responsibilities to the citizens,” Ebiseni said.

He stated that Tinubu needs a second term to enable the full benefits of some of his audacious socio-economic policies to materialise, including the introduction of State Police and the increase in the divisions of the Nigerian Army from eight to 12.

He noted that the measures are in the best interest of the welfare and security of the people and require time to germinate and bear fruits.

On the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Ebiseni described the project as the most significant life-changing project for the Ilaje coastal people of Ondo State.

“Politics is local, and as a leader of my Ilaje coastal people of Ondo State, this road is the most significant life-changing project for us, and I am here to join President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for its full implementation, particularly its proper coastal alignment in the state. To us, therefore, whom much is given by the President, much more is expected in terms of support for his re-election,” he said.

The former Labour Party chieftain further revealed that his declaration was the product of extensive consultations across the country. He disclosed that he was only a forerunner for a group of Nigerians who have quietly moved across the six geopolitical zones in the last year and engaged with political gladiators in the process.

“I can assure you that I am just the forerunner for a group of Nigerians who have quietly moved across the six geopolitical zones in the last year. We have also engaged with political gladiators in the process. Our findings, which informed our declaration for the President’s second term, will be made public in greater detail soon,” he said.