From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has identified true federalism as one of the strong pillars that can be used to build a prosperous nation.
Governor Akeredolu said true federalism was important in a diverse nation like Nigeria, adding that it will properly address the fundamentals of nationhood.
He stated this while speaking on the topic: “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Business of Nation Building,” during a Twitter Space session.
He assured Nigerians that the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, will bring a new vista into governance and ensure true federalism thrives if voted into power.
Governor Akeredolu said the APC candidate understands the serious issues affecting the wellbeing of the country.
“If voted into government, Nigerians will see we have someone in place who had gone through democratic tutelage. He has been governor and also led a party.
“Asiwaju has deep knowledge about the problems of this nation. He has been part of the struggle to ensure democracy is enthroned and that a true federal system runs in the country,” Akeredolu said.
He recalled that Tinubu was part of the founders of National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and participated in the struggle that led to the return of civil democratic rule in the fourth republic.
He said: “Tinubu’s contributions in the NADECO struggle cannot be denied. As you know, when the 1993 presidential election was held, MKO Abiola was deemed to have won that election. But the military junta cancelled the election and set up an interim government.
“Tinubu and few others felt they weren’t going to take it. They formed the NADECO and fought the military. They stood on June 12. Then the whole country conceded that the next president must be from the South West. That is why in 1999, only former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Olu Falae ran for the election.
“You cannot deny Asiwaju his role. He ran away from the county and set up the Radio-Kudirat. Those were the struggles we had before the forth republic came up.”
On the endorsement of Peter Obi by the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, the governor declared that Afenifere doesn’t speak for the Yoruba people.
Akeredolu noted that Afenifere is divided in respect of the purported endorsement and emphasised that the group’s views do not represent the stance of the Yoruba people.
Governor Akeredolu said Tinubu has always remained a progressive despite the prevalence of political prostitution in the country.