Afenifere Says It Was Sacrilegious For APC Governors To Boycott Ooni’s Burial

The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has berated the Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola and other All Progressives Congress, APC, governors in the South-West for failing to attend Friday’s burial service held for the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, describing their boycott as sacrilegious.

National Publicity Secretary of the pan Yoruba group, Yinka Odumakin told Punch yesterday in Osogbo that the governors ought to have honoured the departed traditional ruler by being physically present at the burial service but chose not to.

According to him, “it will be most unfortunate if they did not attend the Ooni’s burial because of politics. I believe they have other reasons.

“Not attending the burial is condemnable because the throne of the Ooni is the foremost in Yorubaland.

“If they carried politics into that, then their action is sacrilegious and a great disrespect to Oduduwa , who is the progenitor of the Yoruba race,” Odumakin said.

Speaking in the same vein, the PDP governorship candidate in the last election in the state, Senator Iyiola Omisore informed the newspaper that it was unfortunate for Aregbesola and other APC governors in the South-West to shun the burial programme.

The PDP chieftain, who was once Osun deputy governor, however applauded President Muhammadu Buhari, for sending Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to represent him at the burial ceremony.