Peter Obi reacts to El-Rufai’s statement on calling him ‘Nollywood actor’
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has reacted to the statement by Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai calling him a Nollywood actor.
Obi said he would rather work hard to improve the entertainment industry.
Recalls that Governor El-Rufai while featuring on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout described the former governor of Anambra State as a Nollywood actor who was incapable of winning the elections and would score little percent in the north.
The Kaduna governor said, “He is polling in the Christian enclaves in the North but how many are they? Peter Obi cannot win the election. He doesn’t have the number of states, he doesn’t have 25 percent in more than 16 states, the last time we checked. He can’t go anywhere.
“Peter Obi is a Nollywood actor and that’s all he will be. This election is between the APC and the PDP because they have the footprint, they have the spread. Ethnicity and religious bigotry will not take you anywhere and that’s what the Labour Party campaign is all about,” he said.
However, Peter Obi during an interview on Arise TV said El-Rufai’s claim would enable him to intensify the means to woo more Nigerians, thereby increasing his percentage in the northern part of the country.
The LP flagbearer pointed out that Nollywood is part of the critical sector that needs development in Nigeria.
Obi said he would focus on Nollywood if elected president, calling on Nigerian actors to support him since El-Rufai had tagged him as one.
He said, “I thank El-Rufai for what he said, at least he gave me some percentages; I’ll work hard to improve on that. The entertainment industry is one of the engines that will develop us as a nation, I’ll focus on that and Nollywood.
“And since he said I’m an actor, I’m calling on all those in the entertainment industry, including Nollywood, to support me.”
Meanwhile, the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has slammed El-Rufai for his comment, saying it’s an insult to the association and is demeaning.
The reaction was contained in a statement signed by the Guild’s Director of Communication, Kate Henshaw, on Saturday.
“The statement is very offensive and demeaning to the Actors Guild of Nigeria and Nollywood as a whole as it was purely intended to deride the acting profession.”
The association is demanding a retraction of the said statement and an apology from the Kaduna State governor.
AGN has said the governor’s usage of an actor to make such examples in that context is unintelligent and arrogant.
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