Following uproar, NBA withdraws invitation to El-Rufai

Following protests by lawyers and other concerned groups, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Thursday withdrew the invitation extended to Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to participate in the association’s Annual General Conference.

NBA had listed the governor as one of the keynote speakers at the conference.

The body said on its Twitter handle, @NigBarAssoc., that the decision to withdraw El-Rufai’s invitation to the conference was taken during one of its meetings.

It wrote: “The National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association at its ongoing meeting resolves that the invitation to the Kaduna State Governor, H.E. Nasir El-Rufai, by the 2020 Annual General Conference Planning committee be withdrawn and decision communicated to the governor.”

READ ALSO: Hundreds sign petition to stop El-Rufai from speaking at NBA conference

At least 3, 500 persons had signed a petition to stop the governor from taking part in the conference.

The petition was initiated by a lawyer, Usani Odum, to protest El-Rufai’s poor handling of the violence that had killed more than 100 people in Southern Kaduna.

Some lawyers had also threatened to boycott the conference if NBA insisted on having the governor at the workshop.

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