Founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, has denied allegations that the newly-registered Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, was resuscitated to secure South-West votes for President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the next election.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, is the dominant party in the region and it was not surprising when it raised the alarm that Fasehun’s UPN was sponsored by the Presidency to whittle down its influence in the South-West, which is considered APC’s stronghold.
But Fasehun, who is the leader of the UPN, said that the party was more interested in securing a better future for Nigeria than winning the next election.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Vanguard in Abuja, the OPC President and founder described those who label him as a mole of the Presidency in the South-West trying to cause mayhem with the registration of the new party as people with warped mentality.
He explained that his relationship with the president was nothing out of the ordinary and was not trying to seek any pecuniary gain from the Presidency by his political activities.
He said: “What I have been doing all my life is to make sure that the South-West is absolutely secure. For people to wake up and say that Dr. Fasehun is setting up UPN to cause mayhem, is irresponsible.
“If I were a disciple of Jonathan who would have stopped me from joining PDP? Should I have gone through all the problems of forming another political party? I would take the easiest way by finding my way to PDP rather than going to find a political organisation that would become an auxiliary to the main party. I would never do a thing like that”, the OPC chief added.
Shedding light on the nature of his relationship with President Jonathan, Fasehun claimed that it was one borne out of respect by a citizen for the president of his country.
According to him, “I have no special or unusual relationship with President Jonathan. He is the President and I will give him his constitutional respect as the leader of this country and that is the end of it.”