9th NASS LEADERSHIP: Afenifere casts doubts on Gbajabiamila’s integrity, calls for ‘unimpeachable character’

As the race of the leadership of the ninth National Assembly thickens, Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-political group, has urged the All Progressive Congress (APC) not to field a personality with questionable character for the speakership position.

The spokesperson of the group, Yinka Odumakin, while speaking with newsmen on Sunday said if the party is truly considering zoning the position of speakership to the southwest, then they are interested in a lawmaker who will represent a true democracy that the late sage, Obafami Awolowo died for.

“Nigeria today is in a moral turpitude where characters don’t matter anymore, where there is no morality, where in fact today, leadership is some sort of criminal enterprise.

“But we want to put it on record that for us in this part of the world, character still matters, integrity matters and if anybody is going to be picked from our zone, those virtues should be considered. If they are picking anybody from the South-West, they should pick somebody with character and not one with questionable character,” the Afenifere chieftain said.

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“What Awolowo taught us in this part of the world is that those who aspire to lead men and women must be men of unimpeachable character, of moral standing with no but and must be above board,” he added, even as he recalled an encounter the sage had with an Action Group (AG) chieftain, who appeared to be wayward in his character.

“There was a time when Action Group won an election and they (leaders and members) were having a get-together party, a leading member of the group came to the party with his girlfriend and Awolowo was reading his speech when he saw him and he paused his speech. Then he said Chief so so, is that your wife that is staying beside you? The man was embarrassed and that was the reason why he left Action Group because he said Awolowo embarrassed him openly,” Odumakin said.

“But what Awolowo was saying at that moment is that men who want to lead must be of clean character,” he added.

“So if they (APC) are zoning the position to the South-West, they should look for a person with the character without blemish to represent our zone,” he charged.

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