The Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has raised the alarm over what it described as a dangerous and deliberate plot to sabotage President Tinubu’s administration by falsely labelling it a “Yoruba government” in a bid to stir ethnic division and truncate his re-election bid.
In a press statement issued on Friday and signed by its National Organising Secretary, Apagun Omololu, Afenifere condemned what it called a clandestine ethnic agenda allegedly exposed by Dr Sandra Duru, who revealed details of a shocking conversation she had with suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
According to the group, the former senator made a shocking admission of a conspiracy to provoke tribal sentiments against the President by painting his government as ethnically biased, in what Afenifere said was an attempt to deny him a second term at all costs.
“We have taken due note of the recent exposé by Dr Sandra Duru, detailing her conversation with the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, particularly her shocking admission of a clandestine plot to sabotage the administration of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which the conspirators have stereotyped as a ‘Yoruba government’, and thereby stir the embers of division to deny him a second term. This is no light accusation. It is a revelation that demands reflection from patriots and repudiation from all who still hold Nigeria dear,” the group declared.
Afenifere made it clear that President Tinubu’s mandate was a national mandate, not a tribal coronation, stating that his emergence as Nigeria’s leader came through the ballot box and the trust of Nigerians from all walks of life.
“Let it be said, plainly and without ambiguity, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government is not a Yoruba government. It is a Nigerian government. He did not ascend to the presidency by tribal inheritance but by democratic choice — the result of votes cast in faith by Nigerians of every tongue, creed, and religion.”
The group described the ethnic stereotyping of Tinubu’s government as not only dishonest but dangerous tribal opportunism that must be rejected by all Nigerians of conscience.
Drawing parallels with the past, Afenifere recalled that no such tribal conspiracy was hatched when President Muhammadu Buhari held sway for eight years.
“We remind the nation: When President Muhammadu Buhari held office for eight years, no one branded his leadership as a ‘Fulani government’. No tribal coalition was formed to deny him a second term on the grounds of ethnicity. He was allowed to serve out his mandate in full and rightly so. The same principle of equity and continuity must apply now.”
“Let no one demand justice only when it suits them, but deny it when it is owed to others. President Tinubu shall serve his full term of eight years, by the will of the good people of this country and under the watch of the Constitution. To suggest otherwise is to play Russian roulette with our national destiny,” the group warned.
Lauding Dr Duru for what it described as uncommon courage, the group praised her decision to speak up against what it termed a desperate and dangerous plot.
“Afenifere salutes Dr Sandra Duru for her uncommon courage for speaking truth not only to power, but to conspiracy. Her voice is a reminder that integrity still walks among us, and that silence, in the face of wickedness, is not an option for those who love this country.”
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Afenifere also rose in defence of the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, describing the smear campaigns and allegations against him as malicious and politically motivated, especially for choosing to work closely with the President.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the campaign of calumny and false allegations against the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, a man whose only crime, it appears, is that he dares to cooperate and collaborate with the President in the spirit of statesmanship and progress.”
The group frowned at what it called the weaponisation of false allegations and the invasion of people’s private lives in the name of politics.
“We reject the weaponisation of false allegations as political tools, especially when such weapons are aimed at innocent men, families and private lives. Politics has its place, but it must never trespass the boundaries of human decency.”
“To smear a man’s name, fabricate charges, and unleash innuendo on his children, his home, and his honour — that is not politics. That is malice in its rawest form,” the statement added.
The group further lambasted those it described as domestic arsonists, accusing them of seeking foreign validation for the chaos they are allegedly orchestrating within the country.
“We strongly decry the internationalisation of fabricated domestic issues by those who authored the falsehood in the first place. This is akin to setting fire to your own seat in a cinema and running out crying ‘Fire! Fire!’ not out of alarm, but out of selfish ambition.”
“It is selfishness that seeks to burn down the image of the nation to satisfy the ego of one person who believes that except she has her way, the country should not have peace.”
Afenifere maintained that Nigeria is not a tribal empire, warning that no amount of blackmail or conspiracy would derail the country’s constitutional path.
“Nigeria is not a personal or tribal empire. Our nation will not bow to tribal blackmail. It will not bend to invented narratives. And it will not break under the weight of conspiracy.”
“Let all patriots rally to the defence of truth, justice, and constitutional order. Let us remember that nations fall not only when tanks roll through streets but also when lies, repeated often enough, begin to sound like truth.”
The group rounded off with a warning against what it described as petty ambition masked as activism, urging Nigerians to reject agents of national sabotage.
