2023: We’re not involved in campaign for south-west presidential candidate, says OPC

Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) says it will not partake in any political action aimed at mobilising support for a south-west presidential candidate in 2023.

Yinka Oguntimehin, publicity secretary of the OPC, in a statement issued on Monday, said the congress was not part of a group that recently met in Lagos to mobilise support for the presidential ambition of Yoruba candidates.

He said the OPC will deal with anyone who uses its name for political reasons ahead of the 2023 general election.

The OPC said its political vision is beyond 2023 and that irrespective of who becomes Nigeria’s next president, the country’s political solution lies in restructuring.

The statement reads: “Including OPC’s name without a specific name attached to the purported arrangement of 57 south-west groups rooting for a south-west presidential candidate was a fraud and illegal because we are not a party to a meeting.

“We are aware that when elections are approaching, some politicians usually use the OPC’s name to curry favours. There are some groups that are affiliates of political parties that usually make themselves available for politicians.

“Those groups have no programme or activities that they are known for. Even if anything happens in Yoruba land, you don’t hear their voices, except, occasionally, during elections.

“Anybody or group using our name without proper attachment or specification amounts to fraud and we will handle such in the most conventional manner.”

The OPC spokesman said Nigeria needs a system that will address the agitations across the country.

“Transition from one government to another through credible, free and fair elections may be good for our democracy, but the issue of rising agitations and conflicts can only be treated and addressed through restructuring,” he said.

“Even if an angel emerges, the president of this nation today, without restructuring, nothing will change for better.”