Ahead of the 2023 presidential elections, a Yoruba youth group, South West Movement for Osinbajo, has called on South west Monarchs, governors, political and business elites to compel on former Governor of Lagos state and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to perish his rumoured presidential ambitions and support vice president Yemi Osinbajo to succeed, President Muhammadu Buhari.
The group cautioned that South west Governors, Traditional rulers, business and political elites must carefully weigh various options and seriously consider backing Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in 2023, adding that he remains the best candidate from the zone to retain the presidency for the APC in 2023.
South West Movement for Osinbajo (SOWEMOVE) who presented a report and copies of correspondence with several Obas and other eminent personalities in the South West to the Director of Operations of The Progressive Project (TPP), Alhaji Aliyu Usman Aliyu in Abuja during the weekend, assured that Yoruba youths will become arrowheads of efforts towards making Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, successor to President Muhammadu Buhari.
In his brief response, Alhaji Aliyu Usman Alhaji described the TPP as an umbrella organisation for all Nigerian groups at home and abroad who are canvassing for the success of All Progressives Congress (APC) and that of Professor Yemi Osinbajo in the 2023 elections.
“Our progressive cause is borne out of conviction and devoid of negative sentiments that becloud politics in most parts of the third world countries, we objectively see Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as the best towards sustaining the legacies of President Muhammadu Buhari and moving Nigeria forward,” Alhaji Aliyu Usman Aliyu said.
Copies of the November 2, 2021 letters written by the APC Youth group, South West Movement for Osinbajo (SOWEMOVE) to South West Obas, business and political elites is titled “2023: Appeal to South-West Elders/Leaders and signed by both its Coordinator, Abioye Akerele and Secretary, Olugbenga Byron.were presented to the TPP coordinator.
The Yoruba youths cautioned in their letters that Nigeria’s Presidency may elude the South West in 2023 if any wrong move such as failure to seriously consider total backing for Professor Yemi Osinbajo happen.
“Not too long after the Moshood Abiola political era, our emphatic strides within the Nigerian power equation is being threatened and today, there are obvious political traps with the potential to dislodge the South West from a vantage point through which we ought to ascend higher, to real power at the centre.
“If current realities are not adequately weighed, using the wisdom of elders like you, the South West may play itself out of the power equation in 2023,” the group stated, adding that the dynamics of the politics of the 2023 general elections is gradually manifesting from different lines of calculation while many in the South West still appear oblivious of its deeper perspectives.
The group noted further that, ” Tinubu is one leader out of many who has been actively involved in the struggle towards making Nigeria work, he is unique in all respects, irrespective of whatever one may think of his political method, it is now time for him and all Yoruba leaders to see VP Osinbajo’s success as a common cause.
“In the light of the above, we, members of the SOUTH WEST MOVEMENT FOR OSINBAJO (SO WE MOVE) believe that our revered Obas across Yoruba land, the APC Governors in the South West geo-political zone, all Yoruba political elites, business moguls and leaders of thought should now rise to prevail on Asiwaju to invest his political capital in the person of the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, in the overall interest of the Yoruba people.
“We cannot afford to keep distracting ourselves with wrong steps and faulty strategy at the risk of neglecting the very core of our geo-political zone’s priority of regaining power at the centre and actualizing further positive impacts for ourselves and the entire federation come 2023.
“Today, he sits in vantage position and he is greatly enriched with great purposeful insights into what needs to be done towards achieving lasting change; as the number two in Government, he is the closest to the highly coveted seat.
“Prof. Osinbajo has the requisite character, capacity, capability and the intellect to run Nigeria to the satisfaction of the generality of the Nigerian populace,” the group’s letter stated
Governors, traditional rulers and other Yoruba elites to whom the letter was addressed to included all South west governors, traditional rulers, business elites, as well as the zones’ representatives at the National Assembly.
