SWAGA, Oyinlola, PFN back southern governors on power shift, others

• Osun ex-gov says inequality makes rotational presidency imperative
• Group urges South-West governors to rescue detained Lagos rally protesters

The South West Agenda for Asiwaju 2023 (SWAGA) has said that the southern governors’ resolve that the next president should come from the zone is a boost for Nigeria’s nascent democracy.

National Chairman of SWAGA, Dayo Adeyeye, in a statement signed by his Media Manager, Mr. Gboyega Adeoye, said the resolve of the Southern Governors Forum was a good step towards the unity of the country, particularly at this time when the country is being threatened by centrifugal forces.

Adeyeye said the decisions were apt, “not only for the governors, but for rooting for a level playing ground among the three major zones of the southern Nigeria to warm up to produce the next president of Nigeria.

He said such agreement among the governors would douse the current tension raised against Nigeria’s democratic order by lingering ethnic violence across the country.

SIMILARLY, a former governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, yesterday, supported the southern governors on rotational presidency, saying inequality in the country has made the call imperative.

This also came as Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State said Nigeria needed men and women of conscience who could think progressively about the country for posterity.

Makinde spoke while receiving members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South-West Reconciliation Committee in his office, which was led by Oyinlola to present the report of the committee with recommendations on how to unite the party in the region.

ALSO, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), yesterday, backed the Southern Governors Forum on rotational presidency.

The association, which stated this at a press conference, said if the southern governors feel that rotational presidency is what should be the ideal thing for Nigeria, then Nigerians should support it, as well as go for it.

MEANWHILE, a self-determination group, Yoruba Ko’ya Liberation Movement (YKLM), yesterday, urged governors of South-West geo-political zone to rescue the 49 Yoruba Nation agitators arrested in Ojota, Lagos, by the police.

The group, in a statement made available to journalists by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Oluwajuyitan, also lauded the governors on the unanimous decision taken to ban open grazing of cattle in South-West.

“Yoruba Koya Liberation Movement commends the courage showed by governors in the South-West and others in the southern region of Nigeria to demand that equity and fairness be applied in the administration of Nigeria.

“We also appreciate the unity of purpose that is currently being displayed by the governors in advocating and protecting the political and economic interests of the region.

“We, however, demand that the governors should add their voice to complement the popular view among the people and condemn the unlawful arrest and detention of activists/protesters demanding right to self-determination of the Yoruba people at Ojota, Lagos, on Saturday July 3, 2021.

“Such condemnation of this act must be unequivocal and time-based to ensure a speedy release of the protesters,” the group stated.