‘Dollars can’t buy Yoruba votes’

President Goodluck Jonathan

The Elders Council of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State has described the efforts by President Goodluck Jonathan to get Yoruba people’s support for his re-election through monetary inducement as too late.

In a statement signed by the chairman of the council, Mr. Sola Akinwumi, which was made available to newsmen in Osogbo, on Monday, the council maintained that Yoruba people are not articles that could be purchased by the highest bidder.

Decrying the last minute visit to palaces of traditional rulers by Jonathan, the party leaders drawn across the 30 local governments of Osun said that “the dollar rain, if it is true, is a gratuitous insult to the dignity and integrity of Yoruba culture and tradition as it presents our people as purchasable items for moneybags.”

According to the council, the eleventh hour visitation embarked upon by the President in the past few weeks was not surprising as it reflected the antics of an unprepared student that usually adopts panicky measures when a promotion examination is approaching.

“The eleventh hour visitation by President Jonathan did not come to us as a surprise because he, like a poor student of history, realised too late that Yoruba people are worth more than passing attention in the past six years of his presidency”, the council observed.

A careful look at Yoruba states, according to the party elders, showed evidence of neglect by the Federal Government.