The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, loyal to the leadership of late Chief Ayo Adebanjo has ruled out reuniting with the Chief Reuben Fasoranti-led camp following Adebanjo’s demise.
Afenifere had been divided along the lines of Chief Reuben Fasoranti and the late Chief Adebanjo in the lead-up to the 2023 general elections.
While Adebanjo supported Labour Party’s Peter Obi in the spirit of fairness and equity, Fasoranti and his supporters aligned with President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
On Tuesday, the Adebanjo faction named Oba Olaitan Oladipo as Adebanjo’s successor.
Speaking with The PUNCH on Wednesday, , the National Publicity Secretary of the Adebanjo faction, Justice Faloye, dismissed any notion of unification, asserting that the real Afenifere had transitioned smoothly to a new leader in Oba Olaitan Oladipo.
“We don’t recognise any factions. Baba Fasoranti is a retired leader. The fact that he chose to align with others against the principles he set before retirement does not make it a faction. Afenifere is bigger than personalities and election cycles.
“Yes, they are our family and friends, but the push for unity by some is a political gimmick to silence Afenifere’s criticism of bad governance, especially as the 2027 election approaches.
“Afenifere is not about personalities or prebendalist motives. We stand for abundance for all. You either uphold our ideology or you do not. A capitalist neo-liberal perspective cannot be a faction of social welfarists and Social Democrats,” Faloye declared.
However, the National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, and the National Organizing Secretary, Abagun Omololu, of the Fasoranti-led Afenifere dismissed the Adebanjo faction’s leadership declaration, insisting that Chief Reuben Fasoranti remains the only recognised leader of Afenifere.
They described the procedure used to install Oba Olaitan Oladipo as “alien to Afenifere’s tradition.”
“It is a known fact that the National Leader of Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, is still very much around. He is not only hale and hearty, but he is also providing requisite leadership—to the glory of God.
“In a situation where there is no vacuum, how do you talk of filling a vacancy that does not exist?
“Afenifere has a procedure for appointing its leader. How the appointment was done on Tuesday (by Adebanjo’s group) is alien to our tradition,” Ajayi stated.
He added that the organisation was still mourning Adebanjo and focusing on giving him a befitting burial, rather than engaging in a leadership tussle.
In his own remarks, Abagun Omololu strongly condemned the move by the Adebanjo faction, calling it disrespectful to Yoruba culture.
“Our leader, Papa Reuben Fasoranti, has lost one of his lieutenants, Chief Adebanjo, and he is grieving. It is sacrilegious and against Yoruba culture for some opportunists to be jostling for power while the deceased has yet to be laid to rest.
“This is nothing but a desperate attempt by self-serving individuals to advance their political agenda ahead of 2027.
”Let it be stated unequivocally: Afenifere remains undivided. The attempt to carve out a faction for personal gain is a charade, orchestrated to serve prebendalist interests.
“Papa Fasoranti, the Leader of Afenifere, will make an official statement after Chief Adebanjo’s burial,”
