President Tinubu Yet to Engage People’s Demands – CSOs

Thirteen civil society organizations (CSOs) have declared that President Bola Tinubu is yet to meet the demands of protesters. The CSOs include Accountability Lab Nigeria, BudgIT Foundation, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, and others.

In a statement issued, the groups said:

“Over the last few weeks, Nigerians have planned, mobilised, curated different demands, and given the government adequate notice. We recognise that citizens have taken ownership of the demand to #EndBadGovernance and have contributed to the list of demands in circulation from their pain points.

“As civil society groups and stakeholders in the polity, we have streamlined the demands based on consultations, to midwife a peaceful and holistic engagement of issues by the government.

“The issues include protect farms & farmers; human capital development; electoral reform; establish a living wage; and constitutional & judicial reforms.

“The President has expressed the government’s openness to dialogue with protesters on these demands. It is, therefore, our candid advice that this is pursued by officials and representatives of both sides with sincerity of purpose.

“This should begin with an immediate release of all arrested peaceful protesters and sanctions against security agents who attacked unharmed peaceful protesters.

“We remind the government that should security forces continue to aggravate protesters, it may become difficult to broker dialogue. It is our recommendation that representatives of the National Peace Committee and reputable civil society groups serve as facilitators and observers of this dialogue process and its outcomes.

“The protesters have said they will continue their peaceful demands on the streets until Saturday, August 10. We urge the federal government to concede the low-hanging requests as a reassurance of its commitment to citizen-centered governance and leadership.”