APC stalwarts across the southwest shun the launch of Fayemi's presidential declaration in Ibadan

PROMINENT members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the southwest geo-political zone shunned the recent presidential declaration of Ekiti State governor Kayode Fayemi when he launched his The National Agenda (TNA) campaign team.

In a development which was a big setback for Governor Fayemi, the current chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, leading APC members ignored the launch of his campaign team on Tuesday. Already, the TNA has been launched in several other zones but it has so far failed to attract any significant support.

Tuesday's launch, which took place at the International Conference Centre at the University of Ibadan, was shunned by virtually all the major political gladiators in the southwest. Governor Fayemi was only able to attract people from Ekiti State and a few politicians from Osun State to the event, who were conveyed to the venue with buses and cars belonging to the Ekiti State government.

Seye Oyeleye, the director-general of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (Dawn) Commission, delivered a paper at the event. In his submission, he said the unity and progress of the Nigerian nation state has been heavily marred by the systemic and structural deficiencies evident in the country prior to independence which was subsequently worsened by the intervention of the military.

He also harped on the need for a broad-based constitutional development process for the sustainable development of the country. Mr Oyeleye told the gathering that the national agenda is inconsequential without thoroughly investigating the national question.

Mr Oyeleye said: “The national question in this context simply refers to deliberating on the efforts that will accommodate the competing and often, diverse interests and ideologies of several ethnicities, tribes, religions, cultures and some would say class, existing within one geographical entity.

“All other efforts aimed at solving our challenges are tantamount to putting the horse before the cart. The structural and systemic inefficiencies would continue to stall progress and breed disunity.”