The Yoruba Leadership and Peace Initiative (TYLPI) has instructed supporters of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, against causing “chaos” during their presidential campaigns.
Both Osinbajo and Tinubu have indicated an interest in contesting the presidency in the 2023 general election.
The presidential bid tussle has led to reactions and counter-reactions from supporters in both camps.
Speaking on the development in a statement issued on Monday by Tunde Ipinmosho, TYLPI spokesman, the group said such campaigns should be carried out in the overall interest of national development, rather than selfish motives.
“Allegations and counter-allegations of betrayal, greed, and perceived heavy moral burden have been going back and forth among the supporters of the two foremost contenders for the presidential slot since the duo declared interest in the ticket,” the statement reads.
“The bitterness fuelling the mudslinging by the supporters of both aspirants portends grave danger for the social and political health of the region.
“Both Osinbajo and Tinubu were once allies. The tempo of the campaign of hate from the two sides could trigger chaos unless urgent steps were taken to put an end to it.
“The current bitter exchanges would, if unchecked, raise the political temperature in the South West and could degenerate into the kind of civil disorder experienced in the defunct Western Region in the 1960s.
“Such issues as restructuring, devolution of power, state police, resource control, justice, fairness, and equity in the Nigerian state, the statement noted, had been swept under the carpet in the current diatribe between the supporters of the two contenders.”
