By Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti
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Barely 72-hour after the composition of the inauguration transition committee of the President-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, a youth group under the auspices of Ekiti-Kete APC Youths Frontier (EYF), has rejected the Ekiti Nominee, Mr Makinde Araoye as member of the committee.
The youth-based political umbrella body of Ekiti sons and daughters who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a statement in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, by Prince Bayo Ajayi and Famuyiwa Ige, the President and the Secretary respectively, said that they took the decision after an emergency meeting held at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti.
The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, had on Friday announced a 13-man Presidential Inauguration committee comprising of eminent Nigerians to plan a week-long presidential inauguration event that would usher him and his Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima in as the President and Vice-President of the country.
Tinubu, in a letter to the Secretary to the Government of Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, had announced a former Senator representing Borno North and current National Deputy Chairman (North) of the APC, Mr Abubakar Kyari as the Coordinator and Director of Finance and Budget of the Committee.
However, APC youths said that the nomination of Araoye into the Venue, Parade and Swearing-in Sub-committee of the much-awaited inauguration committee was done in bad faith and hereby stands rejected by entire Ekiti youths.
“That as a group with membership of over 500,000, the nominee is not recognized by us and as such can’t represent Ekiti youths in such a sensitive committee. And neither at any point contributed anything meaningful to the development of Ekiti youths and we challenge him to come forward with proofs to the contrary.
“That the nominee was a known arch-antagonist of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu before and during the campaign as clearly instructed by former Governor Kayode Fayemi, his boss who he served as Special Adviser on Federal Matters until recently.
“That the nominee at no time during the stretch of the presidential campaign came out to openly make pro-Tinubu statements or contributions on his behalf either in Ekiti or his Ilawe Ekiti hometown. If he has any evidence of videos or audiovisual tapes of meetings he held with Ekiti youths during the campaign to promote Asiwaju’s candidature; he should bring them forward without further delay.
“That Araoye in his four years in office as Special Adviser to Fayemi on Federal Matters while his former boss was serving as Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum couldn’t attract a single federal project to Ekiti. It is on record that this is so despite that the nominee was one of the youngest political appointees of all time in Ekiti.
“That Araoye’s nomination into such a critical committee is likened to robbing Peter to pay Paul and a slap on the collective intelligence of Ekiti youths who worked day and night to ensure the victory of the President-elect in their respective our domains.”
