May 29: We’ll defend Tinubu’s nandate with our last Blood – Odua Progressives
The Oodua Progressives Care- Initiate (OPCI) on Sunday vowed to defend the mandate freely given to the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, by vast majority of Nigerians during the March 25,2023 presidential election.
Describing the election that produced Tinubu as free and fair, the group expressed its preparedness to resist any attempt by those it called enemies of democracy to stop or disrupt the inauguration of Tinubu on May 29, 2023.
Addressing a crowded press conference in Ilorin, Kwara state, the president of OPCI, Chief Maruf Olanrewajuj, warned that the group would not allow a repeat of 1993 incident when the election of another Yoruba man, the late chief Mashood Abiola was annulled.
Olanrewaju’s speech was titled” Stop drumming for anarchy on May 29 handing over”.
The OPCI president added: “In 2023 presidential general election, it is undisputable fact Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the election with over 8 million votes and he was declared by INEC chairman, Professor Mahmud and certificate of return was given to Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, members of the press, my fellow comrades, OPCI as an organisation that believe in efficacy of law, democracy and the unity of Nigeria, we shall not and we will not fold our hands and be watching these elements of destruction to truncate our democracy. If it was done successfully on June 12 election in 1993, we will not allow it to repeat itself on February 25 election. We will do everything possible to defend the democracy, to sustain the democracy, to grow the democracy and to defend the mandate given to Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We will mobilise all the sisters organizations, Yoruba sons and daughters within and outside the country to defend the said mandate. We are ready to lay down our lives if situation demand; we shall fight this battle without looking back to logical conclusion. We will not allow any intruder or any parasite individual or group of people to dethrone our democracy; we are ready to defend it with the last drop of our blood.”
