Yoruba leaders from the South western part of the country have stated that President Goodluck Jonathan deserved to be re-elected based on his achievements and the successful organisation of the 2014 National Conference.
The leaders made their opinion known after a 4-hour meeting between political, religious and opinion leaders held at Premier Hotel, Mokola in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Thursday, February 26, 2015.
The Ibadan summit, which was themed: ‘The National Conference, 2015 elections and the Yoruba nation” was convened by Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, who is the South West coordinator of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign organisation.
The summit resulted in the issuance of a communique which read: “That the President be commended for the successful conduct of the 2014 National Conference which perhaps can be described as a very bold and in fact the most courageous step ever taken by any president since the return of democracy in 1999.
“That other profound recommendations of the confab, particularly those that touch on devolution of powers, creation of states and community police service; making prison service a concurrent matter; allowing each state to have its constitution; decentralisation of the powers over the establishment and management of railways, sea ports and airports; and development of solid minerals are central to the core interest of the Yoruba.”
“We resolve therefore to fully back and work for the re-election of President Jonathan in the presidential elections as only this could guarantees the implementation of the Confab recommendations.”
Those present at the summit included: Chief Olu Falae, former presidential candidate of the defunct All Peoples Party, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Leader, Afenifere, General Adeyinka Adebayo (rtd), leader of the Yoruba Council of Elders, Senator Femi Okurounmu, Chief Kunle Olajide, former Secretary, YCE, Chief Shuaibu Oyedokun, PDP leader, Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu, Chief Gbenga Daniels, former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, former governor of Oyo State, Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Publicity Secretary, Afenifere, Senator Teslim Folarin, PDP governorship candidate in Oyo State, Gani Adams, Oodua Peoples Congress, Prof. Temitope Alonge, Chief Medical Director, University College Hospital, some members of Accord Party, Labour Party and others.
Speaking at the summit, Governor Mimiko said the choice of Ibadan for the summit was in order to reconnect to the recent history of the Yoruba people who has the ancient city as its capital in the defunct Western Region.
He said: “Here, the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whom I love to refer to as a recent ancestor of the Yoruba people, held court. Let me salute President Goodluck Jonathan for his bold and momentous move as well as his focused leadership which was demonstrated through his compliance with the agitations by Nigerians to debate their collective future. Convening the 2014 National Conference was indeed a historic assignment that we are proud of and as a people; we must do everything possible to ensure that the confab recommendations get implemented.
“Today, the Yoruba people have marched out in their large numbers to their political capital, Ibadan to discuss and articulate once more, an issue which for decades, has been considered to be the main agenda for their race. You will recall that for several decades, the Yorubas were at the forefront of the agitation for the convocation of a National Conference. I therefore congratulate the Yoruba Nation and all Nigerians that finally, their dream of coming together to dialogue how they should be governed has come to reality.
“No doubt, Nigeria has passed through various stages of national dialogues before without being able to emplace a constitutional and political arrangement that is accommodating enough to sustain the dedication and patriotism of many. The constitutional and governmental experiments that we have had seem inadequate to capture the essence of those things that have the inherent capacity to unite us despite our ethnic and religious cleavages.
“The conference report when implemented, will create room for each state to have its own constitution, its own police force, its own prison service, can create its own local governments, can build its own airports, seaports and railways and in addition; in the economic domain, solid minerals that had been the exclusive preserve of the federal government since independence, have now been brought to the concurrent list.
”States can now create employment and develop at their own pace.
With all that, it liberates everybody, it opens up the political space” .
Professor Dupe Olatunbosun, while delivering a paper said the readiness of President Jonathan to implement the recommendations of the National Conference shows he meant well for the Yoruba people and Nigeria in general.
He said: “The fact that over 600 resolutions were passed by 492 individuals from all over Nigeria by consensus was a remarkable and unprecedented achievement in the history of Nigeria. The entire Yoruba and indeed the whole nation who are interested in progress should fully back and work diligently for the re-election of Jonathan and vote massively for him on March 28.”
