The pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, has characterized the late Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, as a bold leader who always had a point of view on problems concerning Nigeria’s structure.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the group’s Secretary General, Chief Sola Ebiseni.
In a statement titled “Akeredolu: Afenifere mourns the exit of a federalist and patriot,” the group commended the late governor for supporting true federalism and restructuring of the country.
The statement read, “Having been sick for a long while, the news of the death of Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, the Governor of Ondo State, should ordinarily not have come as a shock. He will, however, be greatly missed for his courageous standpoint on issues of the structure of Nigeria.
“Under his watch as President, the Nigerian Bar Association was a veritable voice of courage in championing equity and fairness in the governance of the Nigerian Federation.
“In all national conversations, he aligned with true progressive voices in the advocacy of true federalism, insisting on the change of the Constitution imposed by the military through which Nigerian federalism is twisted.
“As Governor of Ondo State, Akeredolu observed and attributed growing sectional activism to ‘faulty and twisted federalism’, lamenting that sectional agitation had displaced ‘national patriotism’, worried that unitary structure might continue to provoke sectionalism while insisting that true federalism will renew and restore fidelity to national consciousness.”
It added, “Akeredolu also decried the concentration of the nation’s wealth in the Federal Government such that states were ever dependent on the center for allocation of revenue from resources extracted from their territories, contrary to true federal practices wherein the constituent federating units control their resources and remit constitutionally agreed percentages to the central government.
“The states, as a result, have become so dependent on the Federal Government and pauperized, unable to impact the lives of ordinary Nigerians.
“In practical terms, in conjunction with his colleagues South West and Southern governors Akeredolu, he ensured the establishment of the Amotekun Security Corps for the security of the region and the constituent states as it ought to be in a true federation, contrary to the most unacceptable monopoly of security by the Federal Government, a caricature of federalism under the imposed military constitution.”
