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I will continue to make my voice heard, NBA platform or not – El-Rufai
BY NICHOLAS ABE
Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, says he would continue to make his voice heard in the things that matter for Nigeria’s progress.
El-Rufai was reacting to Thursday’s decision by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to withdraw an invitation earlier extended to him to speak at the 60th annual general conference of the association.
In a statement Thursday, issued on his behalf by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai said he accepted the invitation to speak at the virtual conference “as part of his commitment to the evolution of a national consensus.”
The statement published on the governor’s official Twitter handle, @GovKaduna, stated: “Malam Nasir @elrufai accepted the invitation of the NBA to participate in a panel discussion on national identity as part of his commitment to the evolution of a national consensus.
READ: NBA dumps El-Rufai, withdraws invitation
“NBA platform or not, these worthy conversations must continue.
“He will continue to make his voice heard on the things our country needs to do for its progress.
“The decision about who speaks at its event is clearly the NBA’s, Malam @elrufai did not seek the platform and is not agitated that he has one less speaking engagement.”
Some lawyers had protested to the NBA over the invitation to El-Rufai to speak at the event, pointing at his alleged indifference to the rule of law and the persistent killings in the Southern part of Kaduna State.
They claim El-Rufai’s utterances and actions at various times were antithetical to the spirit and motto of the NBA which is promoting the rule of law.