The Federal Government has appealed to Nigerians to give it more time to address the country’s economic challenges, promising to handle the planned protests as a “family matter.” The government’s position came on a day South-East governors advised aggrieved Nigerians not to go ahead with the nationwide protests, saying the country was too tense for such protests.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the government was engaging with stakeholders and organizers of the planned protest, and that engagement had always been an ongoing thing. He added that the government was working to address the issues and that President Bola Tinubu had met severally with key stakeholders.
South-East governors warned against the protests, saying it was too early to start agitating against the Tinubu administration over the economic downturn. They noted that the protest could be hijacked by unscrupulous persons to cause mayhem, as was experienced during the #EndSARS protests.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) debunked reports that it had pulled out of the planned nationwide protest, saying it could not have withdrawn from a protest it did not organize. The NLC advised the federal government and sub-national governments to listen to the cries of hungry Nigerian people and do the needful.
Human rights activist, Femi Falana, cautioned the Federal Government against threatening the organizers of the planned nationwide protest, saying threats do not work. He advised the government to identify the leaders of the protest movement and dialogue with them instead of threats.
The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives called on the Federal Government to dialogue with planned protesters to address their concerns. They discouraged the planned protest, especially in view of the insecurity in some parts of the country.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) summoned an emergency meeting of all its state chairmen to discuss ways of staving off the planned nationwide protests against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, appealed to those planning the protest to shelve it and be patient with President Tinubu to fix some of the country’s challenges.
