BEVERLY HILLS, December 14, (THEWILL) – Yoruba youths in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), under the auspices of Congress of Concerned Sons and Daughters of Oduduwa, have called on Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike to apologise to Southwest people.
They said they took a strong exception to the governor’s remark that the Yorubas were inconsequential and had no practical political importance in the PDP describing it as disparaging.
President of the Group, Hon. Dayo Ogunjebe, in a statement said Wike insulted the Yoruba adding that if he failed to apologise, the PDP would be dead and buried in the region because they would seek alternative political platform.
The group insisted that with the failure to give the PDP National Chairman’s position to a Yoruba man, the opposition party had slowly dwindled into a regional party with Wike swaggering like an overlord.
“Our leaders are being mocked. Our symbols of truth and sincerity are now being derided, snubbed, treated with contempt, disowned,” the group said in a statement titled: ‘The Yoruba People: Time for deep reflection.’
“The irreverent, scandalous, arrogant and most myopic statement by the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, is the crowning of all insults upon our people.
“Wike, in his most arrogant and selfish swagger, openly derided our people as being inconsequential and of no practical political importance in the PDP.
“This is rather scandalous and very benighted. He even insulted President Olusegun Obasanjo as a failure. This is an aberration.
“We, at the Congress of Yoruba Sons and Daughters within the PDP fold, are outraged, angry, disappointed, very sad and sickened about this very primitive utterance of Governor Wike.
“We demand an immediate and full apology from Mr. Wike for his gutter language against our people.
“As for us at the Congress of the sons and daughters of Oduduwa, the PDP as presently constituted does not appeal to us anymore. We will look for a more favorable platform that will protect the interest of our people.
“As we see it, the PDP has no future in Yoruba land any more. The party has failed our leaders. It has failed our youths. It has failed our women. It has failed everyone in Yoruba land. Without a redirection, PDP is dead and buried in Yoruba land.
“The Yoruba people had worked assiduously for the growth and development of PDP. In both financial and moral terms, the Yoruba people have been selfless, making tremendous sacrifices, consistent, devoted to the growth of our party.
“But we have been cheated. We have been maligned. The chairmanship position that rightly belongs to us has been taken away. It has been sold to the highest bidder.
“Let Wike and the Yoruba betrayers at home know that we will never play the role of a second fiddle to anyone. We are proud of our heritage.
“We are proud of our achievements across this nation. We do respect the feelings and the tradition of other people. Surely, we will never sit idle while anyone attacks the collective interest of the Yoruba race.”
