2027: Afenifere Renewal Group backs Tinubu’s re-election

The Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere Renewal Group, has appealed to Yoruba voters to support the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in the January 16, 2027 presidential poll for the further development of the Southwest and Nigeria.

The ARG in Ekiti State said that, in addition to the existing North-South rotational convention, allowing Tinubu to lead the country for eight years to complete the restructuring process and save Nigeria from undue internal crisis and instability remained the most profitable step for Nigerians.

The group made its position known in a communiqué at the end of its extended meeting in Ado Ekiti, jointly signed by its State Coordinator, Elder Bunmi Awotiku, and Public Relations Officer, Prince Michael Ogungbemi, and made available on Wednesday.

The ARG, while endorsing the President for another term, appealed to Yoruba voters and other Nigerians considered political allies and soulmates to “vote massively for Tinubu to protect the cord of unity and balance the nation’s political algorithms between the North and the South”.

Awotiku and Ogungbemi lauded the Tinubu-led 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”.

Afenifere added that “total removal of the corruption called subsidy has salvaged many states from financial dire straits causing excessive borrowing and inabilities to meet pressing financial commitments”.

It praised Tinubu’s “uncommon zeal” to secure the country by taking radical political steps, including the decentralisation of Nigerian Army bases to the regions, to withstand the raging insecurity in the form 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,” it stated.

The ARG saluted the President for actualising local government autonomy for the 774 councils across the country after several years of agitation, saying this had helped bring governance closer to the grassroots and extend projects that were of tremendous benefit to rural areas.

In the area of education, the group hailed the President for establishing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, codenamed Students’ Loan, to help students from poor backgrounds acquire higher education, describing it as a masterstroke that had changed the face of education in Nigeria.

The ARG stated, “President Tinubu must be allowed to complete his two-term tenure of eight years, to protect and preserve the sanctity 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 the regional commission for western Nigeria, among others. In fact, he deserves our support and our votes in 2027.”

To preserve the region’s respect in terms of trade and investment, the ARG appealed to patriots from the Southwest to stop selling their ancestral lands under any guise, warning that such action was eroding their territorial integrity and the prestigious legacy of their forefathers that needed to be protected.

“To correct the foregoing, the State Houses of Assembly in the Southwest should enact laws that will review the ownership and lifespan of purchased ancestral lands from 100 to 49 years,” the ARG stated.

The body said members were enthusiastically awaiting further directives from the ARG founding fathers on 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.