You’re not wanted in South East, protesters chant over El-Rufai’s presence as Odenigbo guest lecturer in Imo
El-Rufai, addressing congregation on Saturday
Some of the protesters
Protest broke out on Saturday over the presence of former Kaduna governor and chieftan of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai at the Assumpta Cathedral Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri venue of annual Odenigbo Lecture Series.
El-rufai was bid to deliver a lecture.
The protesters stormed the venue and expressed their displeasure over the presence of the former governor at the lecture.
Carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs the protesters accused El-Rufai of being an enemy of the Igbos.
They alleged that his tenure as governor of Kaduna was marked by policies and actions that led to the deaths of innocent Christians, insisting that he had no moral right to be honoured with a platform in the South-East.
The protesters said they will ensure that El-Rufai and his entourage did not gain access to the Assumpta Cathedral, venue of the lecture series.
He was reported to have been smuggled out of the venue.
For security reasons, El-Rufai was swiftly whisked away after protesters declared he had no moral standing to lecture in a citadel of Igbo heritage, citing his past role as a stakeholder in chaos and hate campaigns against Ndi Igbo.
Protesters also cautioned Peter Obi against using the revered Odenigbo platform for political desperation, stressing that the dignity of the Igbo nation must never be compromised.
However, the former governor appealed to the people of South East part of the country to take the continuous voter registration exercise very seriously.
In a video shared after the programme, he appealed to Igbo mothers and daughters to take voter registration seriously, saying that south-east is lagging behind in ongoing CVR exercise.
He said: “Because the governance of our country today is democratic, we elect our leaders – we don’t select them, we don’t appoint them. So Voting is important. Registering to vote is a civic duty. This is not a political imperative. It is a civil duty, which, as a citizen, you must take advantage of.
“Looking at the numbers of the continuous voter registry in Nigeria in the last two weeks, the South East, including Imo State, of course, are lagging behind the rest of Nigeria.
“I want to appeal to you, our mothers, our sisters, our daughters that are in this room, please take this up and get our children that are 16 years and above, who will be 18 years in two years, and ready to vote. So please go out and register to vote. It is very important.”
