President Goodluck Jonathan’s election campaign in the South-West seems to have hit a snag with the reported statements from the pan-Yoruba group, Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), claiming to deny suggestions that they have endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan as their presidential candidate for the forthcoming elections. It has been reported that another Yoruba group, Afenifere, gave President Jonathan their full endorsement for his election campaign.
In recent weeks, President Jonathan has stepped up his campaign across the southwest, paying numerous visits to traditional rulers. At a recent meeting with several Yoruba leaders, it was reported that the monarchs endorsed the president as their candidate and were backing his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the elections.
However, yesterday, Retired Major General Adeyinka Adebayo, the YCE national president, said that there is no truth in the story. Speaking at the YCE’s national executive council meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, he added that the socio-cultural group had not endorsed any candidate.
Earlier this month, the YCE, also known as Igbimo Agba Yoruba, held a summit convened by the Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, a leading member of the PDP. At that meeting, some Yoruba leaders who attended it endorsed President Jonathan but according to the YCE, they were doing so in their personal capacities.
According to the YCE, it had not shifted from its initial position that it would not enmesh itself in the murky waters of politics by endorsing any of the candidates. YCE assistant secretary Bayo Olateju, said those who attended the summit called by Governor Mimiko did so because they wanted to discuss Yoruba affairs.
At yesterday’s meeting, the YCE also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec), to ensure that elections go ahead as planned on March 28 and April 11 as any further postponement could lead to a constitutional crisis. It added that Nigeria’s electoral law prescribes the conduct of elections 60 days before the expiration of any tenure, so there cannot be further shift of the elections.
