By Opeyemi Adelakun
Secretary-General of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, Chief Sola Ebiseni, has declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 and indicated his decision to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Ebiseni, a former Labour Party chieftain and South-West Coordinator of Peter Obi’s 2023 Presidential Campaign Council, made the declaration during a meeting with Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa at the Government House, Akure.
He was accompanied by supporters, while the APC State Chairman, Kolawole Babatunde, was also present at the meeting.
Aiyedatiwa assured Ebiseni and his supporters that they would be integrated into the APC campaign structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The governor said Ebiseni’s political experience, including his tenure as chairman of the former Ilaje-Ese-Odo Local Government and service as a commissioner in Ondo State, would be useful to the campaign for Tinubu’s re-election.
He also cited Ebiseni’s position as Afenifere Secretary-General and his involvement in other socio-cultural organisations as potential assets to the political mobilisation ahead of the elections.
“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 tasks ahead of us,” Aiyedatiwa said.
The governor said the presence of the APC state chairman at the meeting was intended to demonstrate the party’s readiness to integrate Ebiseni and his supporters into its campaign structure.
Speaking earlier, Ebiseni said his support for Tinubu’s second term was based partly on his view that the presidency should remain in southern Nigeria for political stability.
“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,” he said.
Ebiseni argued that Tinubu’s existing policies and programmes would benefit from continuity, rather than being replaced by a new administration whose policies, according to him, might take time to mature.
He specifically cited the administration’s economic policies, including the removal of fuel subsidy, as an area where he believed continuity was necessary.
“Whatever anyone may say about the removal of subsidy which all frontline Presidential candidates promised in 2023, its retention would have spelt doom particularly the states which were already lying prostate in the discharge of their responsibilities to the citizens,” Ebiseni said.
He also referenced proposed State Police and the increase in the divisions of the Nigerian Army from eight to 12 as measures he said required time to produce their full benefits.
On the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Ebiseni described the project as a significant development for the Ilaje coastal communities 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,” he said.
Ebiseni said his support for Tinubu’s re-election was also linked to the expected implementation of the coastal highway project.
“To us therefore whom much is given by the President, much more is expected in terms of support for his re-election,” he added.
Leave a Reply