The Yoruba Youth Democratic Alliance YYDA, has denied the endorsement of the presidential bid of the Kogi State Governor, Mr Yahaya Bello or any aspirant for the 2023 presidential election.

This is coming on the heels of a Southwest Youth Conference held on Wednesday in Lagos, by a Group called GYB2PYB, which claimed to be routing for the candidature of Governor Bello, come 2023. The Yoruba group in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Comrade Olutobi Johnson, said the events which the organisers, claimed had Representatives of youth from across the southwest states, was nothing by an event organised by the Kogi State government, which it said brought people in from Kogi State in convoy of vehicles led by the Chief of Staff to the Kogi State Governor, Mr Abdulkarim Asuku.

The YYDA, which is a alliance of several Yoruba Youth groups said reports from the event, showed that no notable organization or individual Yoruba Youth leader or political leader, participated at the event. This, the group says, was responsible for the shoddy manner in which the event was organised with very poor attendance and absence of the funfair that such a program should naturally have attracted. But it lacked the authenticity of Southwest Youth's endorsement and participation.

"More so, it is a Known fact that Ibadan is the political headquarters of the southwest region and if any political event as such, claimed to have been organised by these Kogi politicians in Lagos were to be held, such should have taken place in Ibadan, except when decided otherwise, by stakeholders. We also wish to remind those who are trying to merchandise our race, to understand, that Yoruba people are too sophisticated and we cannot be railroaded into a political agenda, that we are not part of."

The group further said what is paramount to Yoruba people at present, is the need to rescue Nigeria from the current state of Insecurity, economic instability and other national challenges, and not who becomes the President of Nigeria come 2023.

The group strongly condemned "the attempt to launder the event by falsely claiming that Southwest youths were part of such a woefully organised event. We can't be blackmailed in this manner and keep quiet about it especially as the event was a non-event. If any Yoruba Youth group was involved, it couldn't have been so badly organised", the group stated.

God bless for this early response