The governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde has said some of the leaders of Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-political group, have waded in to resolve the differences between Ayo Adebanjo and Reuben Fasoranti.
Adebanjo is the leader and Fasoranti is a former leader of the group.
Makinde said this on Tuesday after a meeting of Afenifere leaders in Ibadan.
Since Adebanjo became the acting leader of the group, both leaders have always been having opposing views on national issues.
In the just concluded 2023 general elections, Afenifere led by Adebanjo had endorsed Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) for the presidential election but Fasoranti declared support for Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor said with the conclusion of the general election, it is time to begin the process of fostering unity in Yorubaland.
Makinde said he and other leaders in Afenifere believe that once the two leaders come together, Yorubaland and Nigeria would have the desired unity.
He said the process of reconciling the two leaders would be speedy.
“If you put it in proper perspective, whenever Yorubaland is united, Nigeria is united, and whenever we have issues and challenges in Yorubaland, it usually spirals into other parts of Nigeria,” he said.
“So, my being here is to demonstrate my support for the steps I have been taking and to also let them know that I am committed to seeking for peace in Yorubaland.
“I can tell you that it is not something that we will procrastinate on. We will get to work immediately and I am sure that we will get the desired result within the shortest possible time.
“Once you tie the knot at the appropriate places, every other thing will fall in place. Once our people see the two leaders come together and talk, they will be the ones to appeal to the people.
“At that time, you won’t have to talk much because people would have seen that the leaders are now back together.”
The Ibadan meeting was attended by Abagun Kole Omololu, the group’s organising secretary; Jare Ajayi, Afenifere’s national publicity secretary; Eric Oluwole, Dare Babarinsa, Korede Duyile, Leke Mabinuori, Bakkita Olufowobi Bello and Diran Adesua.
