ABEOKUTA– The Southwest People’s Democratic Party Youth Alliance has faulted the National Association of Ogun State Students for castigating the party governorship candidate in the state, Ladi Adebutu over his comment on Yoruba race.
The group argued that Adebutu and his father, Kensington had track records of impacts they had made in the development of southwest region.
The group however insisted that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been supporting the Northern region since inception.
The Ogun state coordinator, who doubles as spokesperson for the group, Sunkanmi Oyejide said this in statement made available to newsmen on Thursday.
Oyejide dismissed the argument by the student’s body claiming Adebutu said the Yoruba race is selfish.
Adebutu had on Monday urged the southwest region to support the PDP flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar, who is from the Northern region.
This however caused agitations, as NAOSS issued a statement describing Adebutu as enemy of the Yoruba race.
But the PDP youths alliance spokesperson explained that Adebutu meant that other regions should be given a ‘fair play’, noting that Nigeria had been ruled by people from the Yoruba region at various dispensation.
He said, “Ladi never said Yorubas are selfish but simply appealing to the principle of fair play, saying that Yorubas have been presidents of Nigeria under Olusegun Obasanjo for 8 years and Ernest Shonekan who was one time the interim Head of State of Nigeria
“He only said North West has never produced a president before, and that this should be a major reason Atiku should be supported.
“Adebutu is not a person that advocate against the interest of Yoruba people.
If the contribution of his father to Yorubaland is anything to go by, then you will see what he has done in Yorubaland.
“The track record shows that he is not an enemy of Yorubaland.
“Rather, it is Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the APC who worked against Mrs Mulikat Akande who wanted to be a speaker in 2015; Tinubu worked against her to support Tambuwal in 2015. It was Tinubu that work against the woman, making it impossible to have the first female speaker from the Southwest then.
“The killings that have been going on, and the murder of a man in Ondo state and so many other killings happening in the Southwest, Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, what did he say to them; what are his contributions?
“If anything happened in the North, he will quickly go there to donate money; neglecting his own region here in the Southwest.
“If there is anybody that is an enemy of the Yoruba race, it should be APC presidential candidate.”
Oyejide however enjoined the students association not to be used by politicians to destabilize the Southwest.
“NAOSS, they should face their education and they should not allow any politician to use them to destabilise politics unnecessarily”, he said.
