Ekitipanupo Forum, an indigenous
think-tank and intellectual roundtable of Ekiti intellectuals around the world with focus on good governance, has expressed outrage over the advertisement placed by Governor Ayodele Fayose in the Punch and Daily Sun newspapers wishing the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) General Muhammadu Buhari, dead.
It said the group was "bewildered by the fact that this appalling and disgraceful advertisement emanated from our Land of Honour".
In a statement by Its General Secretary, Kunle Oladele, the group said as the representative of Ekiti people home and abroad "we state categorically that the advertisement spoke only the minds of the governor whose actions we cannot control, his cabinet members who worked on it and those of the newspapers that published it".
He stated that like all well-meaning Nigerians, Ekiti people were offended by the advertisement, stressing that the advertisement was in bad taste.
The group expressed shock that the publications refused to apologize to Nigerians over the outrage generated by the advertisement worldwide, calling on the readers to boycott the publications until they apologize for their professional misconduct.
"Ekitipanupo declares that Ekiti people wish no harm to General Muhammadu Buhari or any other aspirant whatsoever. We pray to God that has blessed Nigeria with him to spare his life, granting him all his wishes that will benefit him both in this world and in the hereafter," the group said, stressing that Ekiti people hold all ethnic groups in the country in high esteem, as many of them had in the past served Nigeria, some with ultimate sacrifices to keep Nigeria together.
"Ekiti people do appreciate these heroes and will forever remember their families in our prayers. Moreover, we believe Nigeria is a country where people of all faiths have and will live together in harmony. The good people of Ekiti State believe in peaceful co-existence of all faiths and we live by this belief and continue to enjoy peaceful collaboration between all religious groups of the state," the statement added.
It called on the publishers of The Punch and Daily Sun to dedicate their front pages to an apology to all Nigerians who might have been offended by the advertisement
