The Peter Obi Support Network has denounced the purported attempt by Mallam Nasir El-rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, to thwart a planned northern summit in support of Peter Obi, the Labour Party's presidential candidate.
On July 19, 2022, the organisation had scheduled a gathering at the Arewa House in Kaduna State.
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The summit is intended to engage with supporters of the presidential candidate and the running mate across the 19 northern states of the nation, according to the group's spokesman, Comrade Sani Altukry.
In order to facilitate the essential interaction and idea-cross-fertilization, Altukry had stated that the summit was not, in any way, a political campaign, but rather a gathering of supporters, potential supporters, and volunteers of the Obi-Datti initiative.
However, the organisation said in a statement released on Monday and signed by Altukry that El-Rufai had forbidden them from holding the conference there without providing any justification.
The popular Arewa House, Raba Road, Kaduna, Kaduna State, was supposed to host the event on July 19, 2022, according to the group, but the governor issued a decree cancelling the use of the venue after the group had paid for its usage.
They said that the governor's spokeswoman delivered the directive to the venue manager.
Less than 24 hours before the event, El-Rufai called the manager of Arewa House to inform the POSN spokesman that "we cannot have Peter/Datti Northern Summit in Arewa House."
"The governor failed to provide any justification for refusing the group's use of the venue, which had been publicly publicised."
The POSN went on to claim that El-rufai was too little to defeat the "Peoples Movement" that Peter Obi stood for, and they vowed not to cave in to threats made to stifle the liberation of northern Nigeria from underdevelopment and poverty.
Part of the statement stated, "We deplore the decision of the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-rufai, to prevent Peter Obi and Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party's presidential candidate and his running mate, from convening the northern summit at the Arewa House in the state.
"At this crucial juncture, when northern Nigerians are begging for progress and freedom from poverty owing to bad governance, the governor's choice is discouraging.
"The rising profile of Peter Obi across the country has the governor of Kaduna State feeling threatened.
The governor ought to be aware that this is a "Peoples Movement" that is unstoppable.