He had also said there would be no more meetings at Ayo Adebanjo’s home, adding that the report that he stepped down as Afenifere leader was a “misrepresentation.”
One of the elder statesmen in pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Reuben Fasoranti, has cleared the air on the recent statement he made regarding the leadership of the association.
Fasoranti had in an interview with Impact TV Africa stated that he neither resigned nor retired from Afenifere and remains the leader of the group.
He had also said there would be no more meetings at Ayo Adebanjo’s home, adding that the report that he stepped down as Afenifere leader was a “misrepresentation.”
Fasoranti had added that the meetings of the group would be moved to Akure “as soon as the secretary and I put our heads together — and the leaders too.”
“It was a misunderstanding and misinterpretation from some people who thought I was going senile and couldn’t comprehend,” he had said.
“Afenifere is not endorsing Obi. We are endorsing Jagaban (Tinubu); as you can see the trend, the following, the approval and the acceptability. Adebanjo cannot warn me not to welcome Tinubu. Adebanjo took a stand and I took a stand. We did not speak about Tinubu’s visit. It goes without saying that Jagaban is accepted and we approve of it. Obi has no stand in our mind at all.”
However in a statement dated November 3, 2022, and signed by his Personal Assistant, Mr A. Abiola, Fasoranti denied, saying future meetings of the group would be held in his Akure home.
He said he was misconstrued in the media on the issue between himself and Adebanjo.
The statement read, “It has come to Papa R.F. Fasonranti’s knowledge that some sections of the media, especially the social media, have been ascribing to him false statements designed to cause confusion and polarise Afenifere.
“I have Papa’s permission to say that he has not said that Chief Ayo Adebanjo is no longer the acting leader of Afenifere or that all future Afenifere meetings should henceforth be held at his residence in Akure.
“Papa’s main concern is the interest of the Yoruba in the complex political situation in Nigeria. It is also his concern that Afenifere should survive in dignity and remain a purveyor of the interest of the Yoruba race.
“It is hoped that this information will be adequately circulated.”
Crisis had rocked the Yoruba socio-political organisation after the visit of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, to Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State.
During the visit, which was turned into a mini political rally by Tinubu’s teeming entourage and the Afenifere chiefs who received him, the former governor of Lagos State, was endorsed by the some leaders of the group.
Fasoranti and other leaders of the group also prayed for his success in the 2023 election.
Long before the visit, Adebanjo and a section of the group had endorsed the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi in September hinging their support on the need for the South-East geopolitical zone to produce its first president after other zones had had their turn.