Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), has warned those dragging the name of the group under the leadership of the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams among groups supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to desist from the act.
OPC Publicity Secretary, Barrister Yinka Oguntimehin, said in a statement issued on Thursday, that the group has no link with 2023 politics, nor has it endorsed the APC candidate.
Oguntimehin explained that the Aare Gani Adams-led OPC at no time gathered with any individual or group, to publicly endorse Tinubu.
He stated further that the report in the media that linked the Gani Adams-led OPC with the late Dr. Fredrick Faseun’s faction and other Yoruba groups lending their voices to support Tinubu at a parley in Ekiti, was a huge lie and gross misinterpretation of facts.
While describing the story as an act of distraction and calumny by some desperate politicians, he said the organiser of the parley, Adeniyi Adedipe was once a member of the OPC, who was expelled from the group seven years ago.
“Adeniyi is a political thug with no ideology. He was expelled from the group for acts capable of dragging the name of the OPC in the mud. His predecessor, Shola Ojo was also found wanting and fired for the same reasons.
“It must be stated that OPC, under our amiable leader and father, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland has been refined with people of great knowledge and experience.
“Presently, all state coordinators of our group are now graduates or at least, Ordinary National Diploma (OND) holders, so that they can easily cope with the activities of the organisation
“Our group has never discussed Tinubu with anybody, not even to talk of throwing our weights behind a candidate at any public function.
“All these years, we have made our position on true federalism and restructuring (that is based on regional autonomy as we had during 1960 and 1963), known to Nigeria and Nigerians and we have never hidden the fact that we are non-partisan. Our position is clear on this.
“More importantly, it is a matter of concern that Nigeria is currently surviving on debts with a bad economy and growing insecurity.
“So, as far as OPC is concerned, we have no preference for any of the candidates, and we are saying it openly, even as we warned those behind this report to eschew dragging OPC’s name into the 2023 elections or anything that has to do with Tinubu or any of the candidates,” the statement read in part.
The OPC publicity scribe, however, urged the media to remain more committed to a just society, saying the political terrain as it is now, is very tense, as politicians can go to any length to achieve their political ambitions.
“The media should play their traditional roles as the fourth estate of the realm and the last bastion of hope for Nigeria and Nigerians,” Oguntimehin added.
