The ARISE News/CDD Town Hall Meeting for presidential candidates in Abuja on Sunday, was disrupted by supporters of Labour Party Presidential Candidate Peter Obi who took over the venue in protests.
The supporters refused the organisers to proceed with the event, having noticed the absence of some of the frontline presidential candidates, who were represented by their running mates.
Various interventions to bring the situation under control were vehemently resisted by Obi’s supporters, as their chants rent the air and heated up the atmosphere in the arena.
Most of them could be heard chanting “No VPs, we don’t want second fiddle, only presidential candidates, we will not tolerate that, it is a presidential candidate debate.”
Finally, reason prevailed and the event kicked off much later than scheduled following various pleas by the organisers, including Arise TV’s Dr Reuben Abati, who convinced the angry crowd of supporters that the meeting was a town hall meeting and not a presidential debate.
Organised by ARISE News Channel in collaboration with Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a non-governmental organisation, the townhall focused on Security and Economy and is the first in the series of engagements with candidates in the countdown to the 2023 Presidential Election.
