"President Jonathan has been nice to me and my group" - OPC leader, Gani Adams

Gani Adams, National Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, a socio-cultural group which has always claimed it protects the interest of Yorubas, has defended his group’s support for President Goodluck Jonathan, saying the President has been nice to him and his group.

The Convener of the Coalition Of Concerned Nigerians, COCN, explained that since his meeting with President, things have changed and he has since remained loyal to him, adding that during their meeting in Aso Rock, the President solicited his support and advised that he should ensure that OPC remained peaceful as they had been all these years.

Speaking on Wednesday morning during a live television programme monitored in Lagos, Adams explained that his relationship with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, began when President Jonathan emerged as the nation’s leader.

According to him, “when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was the president for eight years, he never really looked at us. Instead, he was always antagonising us and always looked the other way.

“But when President Jonathan became the president, he called me to Abuja, spoke with me and we had a handshake and ever since, my life has not remained the same and that was how our relationship began.

“He has since been supporting us (OPC) and our activities and that is one of the reasons we have been backing him.”

Responding to allegations that his group collected N9bn from the Presidency alongside other militant groups to unleash mayhem on the streets, Adams stated that “we did not collect N9 billion for doing anything we did. These are mere allegations by people who do not have facts to back up their claims.”

“Everything we are doing is not just for the Yoruba race. We are saying all of these so that we can have a new Nigerian (sic) that we can be proud for (sic).”

Adams was one of the leaders of socio-cultural groups who met Jonathan individually in Lagos recently and there were reports that the President doled out hubdreds of thousands of dollars to the groups and their leaders.

Credit: Damilare Okunola/PM News