LAGOS – The Yoruba socio-cultural groups, Afenifere and Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) who were at the forefront of the campaign of calumny against the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari have made u-turn following Buhari’s victory in Saturday’s presidential election.
They have all joined the hordes of those congratulating the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), describing him as the choice of the people.
Afenifere said the result of the election should be acceptable to all and called on the President-elect, to implement the report of the 2014 Confab.
Leader of the group, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, who described the election as unprecedented in the history of Nigerian politics, said though there were reported cases of Card Reader malfunctioning in some areas, the exercise was a success.
He disagreed with the call in some quarters that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should cancel the elections, saying, “It is clear from what we can see that it was fair, free and devoid of violence. I hope we will be able to replicate this in future.”
He urged the incoming APC government to play politics that is free from bitterness, rancor and hatred, saying the interest of the people should be paramount.
In his congratulatory message, the leader of OPC, Gani Adams said the success of Buhari at the election across the country proved he is the choice of the people.
Commending Buhari for his resilience and tenacity over the years, Gani Adams said, “I wish to send my congratulations to the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, on his success in the recently- concluded presidential election. By his resounding success in the election across the country, General Buhari has proved that he is the choice of the people”.
He added: “His speeches before, during and after the election are also commendable because they went a long way in dousing the tension in the country. This actually shows that the ‘Peoples General’ as he is fondly called is indeed a statesman.”
Adams called on Buhari to begin to see himself as the president-elect of all Nigerians and not just that of the All Progressives Congress, saying “For him, it is time to mend whatever differences that may have arisen as a result of the election”.
A few days to the presidential election, Gani Adams led OPC members on a violent protest in Lagos against INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, during which APC billboards and posters were destroyed on Ikorodu road.
Gani Adams
