Leader of the Obidient Movement in South East, Dr. Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh, has condemned the verbal attacks against the former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, for urging the people of South East to participate in the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

Recall that shortly after his recent visit to Owerri, Imo State, where he addressed participants at the 2025 Odenigbo lecture in Maria Assumpta Catholic Church, some individuals believed to be sponsored by desperate politicians, began to describe him as an Igbo hater.

Also, the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri, through the Archdiocesan Chancellor, Rev. Father Patrick Mbarah, came out boldly to condemn what it described as hired, placard-carrying thugs that gathered at the rear entrance to the Maria Assumpta Cathedral to chant slogans against both El-Rufai and the former presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

But, speaking to journalists in Abuja, Dr. Ezeh expressed dismay at the sham protest, describing it as the handiwork of desperate individuals within the ongoing coalition talks in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) who feel embittered by El-Rufai’s declaration that a Southerner should be supported with the party’s presidential ticket to serve out the remaining four years.

The Obidient leader noted that although the Nigerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and choice to citizens, South East politicians in the coalition who are working for a northern presidential aspirant should be guided by the dictates of equity, fairness and inclusivity.

While maintaining that the only way Nigerians would take the coalition seriously is by zoning the presidential slot to the South, Ezeh, who is also a prominent entrepreneur, declared that the time for grabbing power for power’s sake is gone.

He maintained that El-Rufai’s message to Nigerians aligns with the belief of the Obidient Movement that a new Nigeria is possible, adding that the former Kaduna State governor should be appreciated for his forthrightness and not judged based on his past membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to Ezeh, Mallam El-Rufai has come to acknowledge that Nigeria belongs to every citizen and believes that in the journey to a new Nigeria, the salient facts to note include citizen participation in elections and insistence on the rule of law.

“I wish to say that we have been mobilizing our members to go out there and register to vote, because apathy and lethargy encourage vote thieves to steal the people’s mandate. To me, all these are at the centre of El-Rufai’s messaging, whether in Sokoto, Kaduna or Owerri.

“We need much courage; we need much sensitization; we need wide and continuous consultation; we must shed all apathy and lethargy and resolve to do something. We must believe that, as Aisha Yesufu is wont to say, no Nigerian is more Nigerian than any Nigerian.

“We must be prepared to fight for our rights as vehemently as those who want to appropriate our rights to vote and be voted for by force and intimidation. In sum, we must recognize that 2027 is going to be the final bitter fight between the forces of evil and the forces of good, the forces of light and the forces of darkness.

“And, having chosen our side and this path to a new Nigeria, we go in the strong confidence that good should always triumph over evil and remain steadfast till victory is won.”

Ezeh warned all those going after El-Rufai for taking a principled stance against nepotism and political greed to have a rethink, stressing that Mr. Peter Obi remains the rallying point for the birth of a new Nigeria on any political platform.

“If the coalition of opposition political forces against the forces of political retrogression and prebendalism is to bear fruit in 2027, all men and women of goodwill should support Mr. Peter Obi, who parades all the essential qualities of ethical, competent and purposeful leadership,” he stated. (Nigerian Tribune)