The Peter Obi Support Network, POSN, has accused Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-rufai, of blocking the group’s plan to hold Northern Summit in support of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
THE WHISTLER gathered that the group had long planned to hold the summit at the Arewa House in Kaduna state, on July 19, 2022.
The group’s Spokesman, Sani Altukry, explained that the summit was designed to interact with supporters of the presidential candidate and the running mate across the 19 northern states of the country.
He denied that the summit was a political campaign explaining that volunteers and would-be volunteers and supporters of the Obi-Datti project would converge for necessary interaction and cross-fertilisation of ideas.
However, a statement signed by Altukry on Monday, accused El-Rufai of instructing the Manager of Arewa House, not to allow them hold the summit at the venue, without giving any reason for his action.
He said the order to cancel the summit came from the governor after full payment had been made.
“El-Rufai, through the spokesperson, called the Manager of Arewa House to notify the POSN spokesman that ‘we cannot have Peter/Datti Northern Summit in Arewa House’, less than 24 hours to the event,” he alleged.
He further said, “The governor failed to give any reason for turning down the group’s widely advertised use of the venue.”
According to him, El-rufai was too small to stop the “Peoples Movement” which Obi represented, vowing not to succumb to intimidation aimed at suppressing the liberation of northern Nigeria from under-development and poverty.
“We condemn the decision of the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-rufai to block the hosting of the northern summit for Peter Obi and Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Presidential candidate of Labour Party and his running mate at the Arewa House in the state,” he stated.
He further argued that, “The decision of the governor is disheartening at this critical point in time when northern Nigerians are desperate for development and liberation from poverty due to maladministration.
“The governor of Kaduna State is intimidated by the rising profile of Peter Obi across the length and breadth of the country.
“The governor should know that this is a “Peoples Movement” which can never be stopped.
“The movement represents all oppressed Nigerians and everyone that desires good governance, and Governor El-rufai is too small to suppress it.”
