Anthony Iwuoma
The Labour Party (LP) has accused Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State of telling ‘blatant lies’ in his claims that Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, arrested him in Anambra in 2013.
Recall that Governor el-Rufai had claimed that Peter Obi, who was Anambra State governor at the time, ordered his arrest.
The governor, who was seen in an old footage that went viral, said in an interview after the purported arrest, three AK-47 wielding operatives arrested him, “threatening that they have directive from Abuja to restrict me to my room.”
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However, Chief Spokesperson of LP Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, who was the national chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) at the time debunked El-Rufai’s claim, saying it was a lie targetted at tarnishing Obi’s image.
According to him, “On November 16, 2013, I was the IPAC chairman. I was in charge of all political party leaders. We were at the Finotel Hotel in Awka, Anambra State.
“Normally, all complaints from any political party come to our table. We had a situation room, organised by International Republican Institute. El-Rufai and my humble self and many others stayed in the same hotel.
“We really investigated and we called a press conference on the matter, signifying the fact that el-Rufai was, at that time, the Deputy National Secretary of APC, and so he should be allowed to perform his duty according to party dictates.
“And then, there was no ambiguity because the security present at that time was to protect all senior personnel of political parties in that hotel.
“I have photos to prove how we addressed a press conference at Finotel Hotel, Awka, condemning the Department of State Services (DSS) for illegally detaining El-Rufai. He never, for once, mentioned Peter Obi.
“This same el-Rufai went to court on this same issue. Obi was not mentioned, rather it was the DSS, and he got a judgment against them. It was a PDP government at the centre and Obi was a governor flying the flag of APGA.
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“The court awarded him N2 million in damages for unlawful detention. Go into the Internet and you will see the full details. Precisely, it was published in Premium Times and SaharaReporters of September 24, 2014.
“So, all he has been saying are blatant lies, deliberately designed to rubbish our presidential candidate before northerners.
“This is targeted to continue to lie to our people in the north to create a division for personal interest. This kind of division has kept our country down for too long. But the people are now being reawakened to fight for their right. We urge them not to be deceived any more.”