Ondo: APC Chieftain Cautions Against Planned Move By Gov Aspirant To Rally Afenifere Leader For Endorsement

By Ayodele Oni

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state has warned against dragging Pa Reuben Fasoranti, leader of Yoruba group into the ongoing campaigns for Ondo governorship.

Sola Olatunji, chairman Ikale Heritage Development said his call is as a result of an alleged plan by a governorship aspirant of APC to ferry Pa Fasoranti and other chieftains of Afenifere for endorsement.

“We are inundated with the plan of an aspirant to ferry the leader Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, and some members of this noble and cherished cultural association to Abuja for endorsement on 16th April, 2024.”

Olatunji did not however reveal the identity of the aspirant.

Olatunji, in a statement on Thursday stated that “Pa Reuben Fasoranti is a respected leader of Afenifere and the Yoruba race in particular.

“He is very close to 100 years of age and certainly too old to be taken up and down in the name of endorsement as this will not serve any purpose in this primary election.

“It should also be noted that this kind of unpleasant idea can only come from someone who is too desperate to be the governor of Ondo State.

“This is a glaring attempt to destroy the credibility of Pa Reuben Fasoranti that he spent several decades to build and someone is desperately making efforts to destroy it at the twilight of the old man’s life because of personal ambition.

“If I may ask, why is Afenifere not endorsing the secretary of the group, Chief Sola Ebiseni, who is also contesting for governorship position on the platform of PDP?”

Ebiseni was secretary of the Afenifere group under Chief Ayo Adebanjo.

“Pa Reuben Fasoranti has remained the father of all. He is very old and fragile. What he has been doing is to pray for all aspirants as his children.

The idea of ferrying Pa Reuben Fasoranti to Abuja and getting President Tinubu’s endorsement by any aspirant is a show of desperation and should be discarded.”

“Like I said several times in my articles, what will determine who wins the APC ticket are : loyalty to the party, political charisma, capacity, credibility, and other factors.”