The South West chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has described the botched 5th Memorial Lecture organised by the Action Congress of Nigeria for a former Governor of Ondo State, Chief Adebayo Adefarati, as the height of hypocrisy.
The party, in a statement by its Zonal Publicity Secretary, Hon. Kayode Babade, said “hypocrisy is no doubt the first name of the ACN and its leaders,” adding that the end of that party is near in Yorubaland.
Babade said: “Time has come for the ACN and its leaders to begin to use their own fathers’ names to canvass for votes instead of looking for already established names.”
It added that rather than trying to use Adefarati’s name to sell their party, “the ACN should strive to secure a name and identity for its leader, Bola Tinubu, who does not have any at present, and begin to use the name to canvass for votes.
“We understand their predicament. They cannot use the name of Bisi Akande because his four years as Osun State governor was characterised with mass sack of workers.
“They can’t also use Bola Tinubu’s name because the name and its owner are fake.
“That’s why they always look for names of credible people to use to canvass for votes.
“These same people, who go about claiming to be disciples of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo are the ones disparaging the Awolowo family, including Mama HID Awolowo, the woman the late sage called his jewel of inestimable value.
“They also used the name of Chief MKO Abiola but denied Abiola’s son the party’s ticket for House of Representative in Ogun State.
“Now it is Baba Adefarati’s name that they want to use to hoodwink the people of Ondo State, forgetting that the people of the state have not forgotten how they despised the man when he was alive and did not even attend his burial.
“However, instead of supporting them in their desperate bid to add Ondo State to their political and economic empire, we are sure Baba Adefarati’s spirit would fight these hypocrites in the ACN, who fought him when he was alive but are now seeking to use his name to curry electoral favour.
“Baba Adefarati saw through their deceit and treachery and stoutly and heroically fought them when the Akande-Tinubu cabal plotted to undermine the Abraham Adesanya-led Afenifere. He was the only one of the six Alliance for Democracy governors who stood by the authentic leaders of the Yoruba then.
“Now, these bunch of opportunists in the ACN suddenly realised he deserved to be celebrated because an election is six months away.
“Our question is: was Baba Adefarati not abandoned as the AD presidential candidate in 2007 while these same people pitched their tents, went to the PDP to borrow a Presidential candidate for their rudderless Action Congress (AC)?
“Could it not have been the shock arising from the betrayal of Tinubu and his men during the build-up to the 2007 presidential election that led to Pa Adefarati’s untimely death?
“Where were the Tinubus, Fayemis, Aregbesolas, Akandes and others when he was on the sickbed? And when he died, did they honour him even by attending his burial?
“And most importantly, what did they do during his first, second, third and fourth year anniversary? Or is it now that election is coming that they suddenly realised that Pa Adefarati must be celebrated?
“Tinubu and his ACN should therefore leave Adefarati and other Yoruba leaders alone and begin to answer their own fathers’ names.”