The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will not attend today’s meeting convened by South West leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the party’s presidential aspirants from the zone, the Progressive Lawyers for Osinbajo has said.
Those expected at the meeting were Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; former Lagos State governor and national leader of APC, Senator Bola Tinubu; Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; immediate past governor of Ogun State and serving senator, Ibikunle Amosun and Pastor Tunde Bakare
The meeting which was the brainchild of two elders of the party, former interim national chairman of the party and former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande and a former Ogun State governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba.
But the Progressive Lawyers for Osinbajo in a statement by its convener, Kayode Ajulo said Osinbajo will not attend the meeting as the agenda is bias towards favouring a particular aspirant.
The statement reads “The attention of the Progressive Lawyers for Osinbajo (PLO) has been drawn to a proposed meeting by some leaders of the APC in South West for the APC presidential aspirants of South West extraction slated to hold on tomorrow, Friday, May 6, at State House, Marina, Lagos”.
“We want to commend this initiative which we believe was borne out of our earlier call on the Yoruba leaders to hold a strategic conference to provide direction towards the fate of the South West in the coming presidential election”.
“While it is our utmost desire that such an important meeting be conveyed with a view to establish a consensus harmony between the aspirants of the APC in South West, we want to state clearly that it should be designed appropriately to promote fairness and genuinity of a clear intention”.
“This above scheduled meeting should have been a welcome development but for the following configurations which were not rightfully designed as it is ought to be:
He said the composition of personality invited for the meeting is a testament to our position that the meeting is a sectional affair of the APC and not in the interest of the southwest and Nigeria .
He said Lagos Flag House in Marina, venue should not play host to such a meeting if it will be adjudged to be credible and fair.
He said if was in collective good of the people, the meeting should be held at a neutral locations like Ibadan, Oyo State or Akure, Ondo State.
He added that the motive of this meeting is inexplicit and undefined to many of the invited aspirants as most of them were never engaged.
The manner at which the meeting is conveyed like a secret proceeding shows that the conveners have no defined agenda productive enough to be for the benefits of all,he said.
He said:”Information at our disposal has it that a communique has already been prepared, and in favour of a particular aspirant. This document is currently in circulation among some of the invitees.The above stated positions have lent credence to the incredibility of the proposed meeting as well as unreliability of same as a compass for the Southwest in the 2023 presidential election.
“We want to reiterate in clear terms that our recent call was directed at notable, respected and apolitical Yoruba leaders, who are genuinely interested in the development of the South West and Nigeria; leaders who patriotically and tenaciously hold on to the history and heritage of Yorubaland and the upliftment of the masses against inordinate personal gains.
“It is on this premise that we look forward to a meeting convoke by Southwest of note like Chief Afe Babalola, Chief Femi Okunnu, Pa. Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Wole Olanipekun, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Iba Gani Adams, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba and frontline traditional rulers in South West as well as the governors from the region.
“It is undoubted and without gainsay that the meeting as conveyed with a prewritten communique without the inclusion of the above mentioned notable statesmen on the list of invitees is premeditated and planned to serve a purpose which will apparently not be beneficial to the southwest and Nigeria”.
“What is visible to the blind and audible to the deaf is that the clarion call for a consensus aspirant from the Southwest is geared towards support for only one person, Professor Yemi Osinbajo who by his extant station, elevation, credibility, competence, experience, intellect, pedigree, and whom the Benevolent has chosen to be the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”
