By Handel Patrick (Staff Reporter)
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi has berated the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai over what he described as a failed attempt to incite the people of Arewa Confab against him.
Reports had it earlier that Governor El-Rufai while speaking at the event organized by the Arewa Joint Committee for presidential candidates on Monday alleged that he was arrested and detained by security operatives in Anambra State for 48 hours under the leadership of Peter Obi in 2013.
El-Rufai said he was in the state to monitor the state governorship by-election as the All Progressives Congress (APC) observer.
Narrating his ordeal that occurred in 2013, the governor, however, said he has all the security architecture at his disposal and mechanisms to arrest and detain anyone now that Obi is in his state for consultations, but he is civilized and would not do such.
Responding to El-Rufai’s allegation, Obi in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Media Aide, Tai Emeka Obasi said the former Anambra governor is too cultured to break the law.
He stated that the Kaduna governor failed in his attempt to incite the audience against the Labour Party presidential candidate, adding that the audience admirably showed that they had not only outgrown such ethnic pettiness but also very interested in what is best for their country.
The statement reads, “Displaying the height of desperation, the governor of Kaduna State went all-time low in issue of pettiness when he attempted to incite the selected audience at the AREWA Confab. yesterday.
“HE Nasir el-Rufai told the audience after his principal, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu had taken his turn that HE Peter Obi, who was being expected, had arrested and locked him up when he visited Anambra State in 2013 when Obi was the governor.
“And went further to boast that as governor of Kaduna State that he had every security apparatus within his disposal to reciprocate.
“What el-Rufai didn’t tell the enlightened audience was exactly why he would visit Anambra State on the day of her 2013 gubernatorial election without being recognised by INEC as an accredited observer. He should have waited for Obi to sneak into Kaduna on the state’s gubernatorial election day to start thinking of retaliation.
“A day that would never come as the man in the news is too cultured to disobey the laws of the land the way el-Rufai did in desperate attempt that would have caused chaos if the security agents did not act as directed by Abuja.
“El-Rufai would have been baffled (he must have watched from the screen) that the evidently very focused members of the joint AREWA fora did not bite his bait. They must have known that no governor was in charge of such arrests as confirmed by el-Rufai in attached video.
“The very mature audience admirably showed that they had not only outgrown such ethnic pettiness but also very interested in what is best for their country that is sinking before their eyes.
“The cheers that welcomed Obi and the kererenke that rang in chorus when he finished an audacious speech were heartwarming to any progressive Nigerian. This country is about to be truly united.”
