A coalition of Yoruba groups, under the aegis of Yoruba World Congress, has passed a vote of confidence on Prof. Banji Akintoye as the leader of the YWC.
Dr. Tunde Amusat, the Convener, Odu’a Coalition Against Insurgency and Kidnapping in Yorubaland, said leaders of various Yoruba groups in Nigeria were gathered to affirm the mandate given to Akintoye for the protection of Yoruba people and Yorubaland.
Amusat said: “You will recall that on August 22, 2019, the leaders of almost 50 pan-Yoruba self-determination organisations assembled in Ibadan to unanimously elect Prof. Banji Akintoye as the Leader of the Yoruba Nation.
“Subsequently, the Yoruba World Congress came to be the umbrella organisation of the groups, with Prof. Banji Akintoye as the president.
“Since that time, over 100 Yoruba organisations, both in Nigeria and in the diaspora, have been admitted into the YWC and still counting as members.
“While celebrating the one year anniversary of YWC, we also want to reaffirm our unalloyed confidence in the leadership of Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye.
“We wish to salute his uncommon courage and uncompromising doggedness in translating the Yoruba redemption agenda and vision into action within the context of the finest Omoluabi ethos and traditions.”
He further said the admission of YWC into the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation within a year of its existence was novel and commendable.
Amusat said the Oodua Nation project was on course and appreciated the efforts of Akintoye and other leaders in that respect.
He said the protection of lives and properties of the Yoruba and other ethnic nationalities domiciled in the South West geopolitical zone was of paramount importance to the YWC leadership.
He said: “The Yoruba World Congress is one and indivisible under the leadership of Emeritus Prof Banji Akintoye.
“There is no crisis within the YWC.
“We are not in contention with anyone or group.
“We remain unequivocally committed to the ideals of the Yoruba World Congress as eloquently expressed by Prof. Banji Akintoye.
“The ideal is to establish a better, more promising future for our teeming youths and to ensure the peaceful achievement of the self-determination goals of the Yoruba nation.”
The group commended the courage exhibited by the South West governors in the establishment of Amotekun.
It called on the Federal Government to take a critical look at the Water bill in the National Assembly before it is passed so that no region in the country was put at disadvantage.
Also speaking, Dr. Wale Adeniran said the group was displeased with the high rate of unemployment among the youths after years of graduation.
Adeniran urged the Federal Government to urgently find a solution to the high unemployment that had escalated crime in the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that present at the press conference were Chief Taye Ayorinde, Shelkh Abdulraheem Aduramigba, Kunle Adesokan and Alhaji Ali Oyedeji among others.
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