Governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola, were absent from the Yoruba Assembly for 2014 National Conference held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Thursday.
A coalition of leaders of thought, traditional and political leaders along with various Yoruba socio-cultural groups endorsed a unified agenda, which are to be canvassed on behalf of the Yoruba people at the forthcoming national conference.
All the six governors were invited to deliver goodwill messages at the assembly.
The host governor, Abiola Ajimobi, was present and other governors of the South-West states of Ekiti, Ogun and Ondo, who were absent, sent representatives to the conference.
Governors Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State was represented by the state Speaker, Suraj Adekunbi; Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State was represented by Dr. Femi Akinola, and Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State was represented by the state Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Sola Ebiseni.
However, Fashola and Aregbesola did not send representatives or apology for their absence.
A National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, was also absent from the event, where some leaders of the party, including former governors of Ekiti and Ogun State, Niyi Adebayo and Segun Osoba, respectively, were present.
Tinubu’s name was not specifically stated on the list of invited leaders in Yorubaland.
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, was also absent and did not send a representative to the conference.
However, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, and the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana, were absent but were represented at the event.