Leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Mr. Ayo Adebanjo and the former governor of Sokoto State, Mr. Attahiru Bafarawa, have said that the northerners will surprise the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Bola Tinubu at the February 25 presidential poll.
Speaking at the presidential campaign rally of the Labour Party (LP) held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday, Adebanjo urged Tinubu to save himself from the shame of losing at the polls, saying the northerners will not vote for him.
Adebanjo who was accompanied by another leader of Afenifere, Mr. Femi Okunronmu, advised Tinubu to withdraw his candidacy for his LP counterpart, Mr. Peter Obi.
Adebanjo described the LP as the new bride to the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) which according to him, would save Nigerians from the misrule of the APC.
“All those who know Tinubu should tell him, I had always told him and I will tell him again, the northerners will not vote for him.
“He (Tinubu) should come back home now to support Obi, because when they finally defeat him, he won’t have the courage to come back home, if he comes back now, we will forgive him and take him back.
“I have told you before and I want to say it again, Labour Party is now NADECO, those of us supporting Obi are the ones that want good governance, we want Nigeria to be better, we want to liberate ourselves from the captivity of the ruling class.
“We are behind Obi; leaders of progressive movement are behind Obi. Those fraudsters parading themselves as Yoruba do not love the country. Yoruba, do not take things that belong to other tribes. A Yoruba has been president before,” Adebanjo said.
Similarly, Bafarawa, who is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has replied the governor of Kaduna State, Dr Nasir el-Rufai saying he cannot force northerners to vote for Tinubu.
Speaking in an interview published by BBC Hausa, on Saturday, Bafarawa said some comments el-Rufai made in his recent interview are disrespectful to elders in the north.
Speaking in an interview published by BBC Hausa, on Saturday, Bafarawa said some comments el-Rufai made in his recent interview are disrespectful to elders in the north.
El-Rufai had said he is 63 years old and has become an elder, adding that “there are no elders with dignity in the north”.
“We see his comment as a disrespectful one. What he was supposed to speak on was how the north and the country at large could improve.
“Also, el-Rufai said he contested for election and was voted into office. If this is what he calls being an elderly person with dignity, before he even contested, we contested and people voted for us.
“Therefore, we that he doesn’t see as elders with dignity will show him that elders exist in the north. Even if there are (elders who have no dignity), he should preach to them rather than generalise.
“Also, he came out and was proudly saying that Tinubu will win the election whether people like it or not. Who told him that the whole of the north are supporting the APC?
“It’s just his opinion. Therefore, he has no right to boast with the north because everyone has their own candidates. The way he is campaigning for Tinubu is how we are campaigning for our candidate.
“We will surprise them; we will show them that this country belongs to nobody, likewise the north,” he said.
