As protest begins, govts urge restraint

• Reduce demonstration to 1 or 3 days – Organisers’ lawyer
• Bandits, insurgents may hijack rallies – SGF
• Bomb scare in Lagos; Abuja residents stockpile food
• We won’t tolerate violence, govs warn
• Provide security for journalists, MRA tells FG

As the #EndBadGovernance protest is expected to kick off today, the federal and state governments yesterday again urged restraint. 

Some Nigerians had called for the 10-day #EndBadGovernance protest over the rising cost of living, which resulted from President Bola Tinubu’s announcement of an end to petrol subsidy, and the floating of the Nigerian currency last year. 

The organisers had, on Tuesday after meeting with the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, rejected his proposal for confined protests and insisted on taking to the streets.

Speaking on Wednesday at a world press conference in Abuja, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, pleaded with Nigerians not to proceed with the protest.

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He said the protest was not the solution to the nation’s challenges which, according to him, President Tinubu was already addressing. 

The SGF noted that Tinubu’s administration “recognises the right to peaceful protest, but circumspection and vigilance should be our watch words”. 

According to him, “Government is weary of the dangers associated with protests that are vulnerable to being hijacked by bandits, insurgents and other criminals. Rather, we request that dialogue should be advanced and we remain open to such”.

He said Tinubu sought the mandate of Nigerians to lead the nation at this difficult time because he knew that effective leadership was required to address the challenges that had accumulated over several years.

“Economic prosperity for the nation remains the ultimate goal of the administration of President Bola Tinubu because it is the engine that drives progress, lifts families from poverty, and builds strong, resilient societies.

“To achieve this goal, we must enjoy peace and stability because it is the cornerstone upon which we build trust, cooperation, and shared purpose. When peace reigns, policies yield results, businesses thrive, investments flourish, and creativity is unleashed.

“This administration at inception in May 2023 inherited an economy in need of urgent, bold and imaginative reforms. Policy measures including removal of an unsustainable fuel subsidy regime had to be taken. This, it must be admitted has resulted in unexpected adjustments that impacted all facets of the economy and our daily lives.

“The administration similarly inherited a security situation that had existed for two decades and required greater attention in terms of upgrade of security architecture, infrastructure, systems, capability and capacity of personnel. This has compelled massive infusion of scarce resources from our already dwindling revenue.

“The objectives have been to secure lives and property, build foreign investors’ confidence, and increase food production by returning our communities to their homes and farm lands in safe and secure environment,” he said. 

He listed Tinubu administration’s interventions to include the release of N5 billion each to state governors to cushion the effects of the petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians; the six-month wage award of N35,000 for workers, the approval of the N70,000 national minimum wage; the approval of 20 trailer loads of assorted grains per state; the removal of tariffs on food items; the approval of 64 trailer loads of fertisers to each state and the creation of the Ministry for Livestock Development. 

“Our appeal is that Nigerians should please pursue the path of peace, dialogue and collaboration in addressing the challenges that collectively confront us. Please go about your legitimate businesses and avoid actions and/or association that are capable of disturbing the peace of the country,” Akume said. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the bags of rice to be sold by the federal government for N40,000 were available, but the sale centres had not been announced for security reasons.

“Sometimes, it’s difficult to mention the routes and the time for security reasons. But the rice is already available, it’s going to be sold at N40,000. The rice is already available, I can confirm that it’s going to be sold at various points around the country. Care is being taken so that it would not be hijacked by people who have money. If we put it out there, they would go there and hoard it; those for whom this rice is intended will not now get the rice”, Idris said.

The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, said Tinubu understood the concerns of Nigerians especially on the cost of living crisis, “but the president doesn’t want the protests to reverse the progress gained in the last year.”

Edun, who noted that economic crises are not peculiar to Nigeria, stated: “Inflation around the world is high and economies have not recovered from COVID-19, and now things have been exacerbated by the ongoing war in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.”

He said: “The economy in the first half of the year has grown. Agriculture that was negative, when you say are food prices high? Why is there a lack of food? It was because it was contracting. But since the first quarter of this year, it has started picking up and we expect that and are doing everything possible to maintain that.

“What the president is saying now is that we need to give ourselves this golden opportunity to take Nigeria forward”, he said. 

The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, urged Nigerians to see their current pains as a sacrifice to get a greater country. 

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu said Nigeria’s budgets reflect the country’s priorities.

He said Tinubu’s administration had increased budgetary allocations to security, health, social welfare and agriculture with a view to creating an enabling environment for citizens to prosper.

Abuja residents stockpile food

Fear gripped many Nigerians yesterday as they rushed to markets to stockpile food items ahead of the protest.

The wife of one of our correspondents who was at the Kubwa General Market in Abuja said many people were there to buy foodstuffs and other items they needed for their domestic needs during the protest.

She also said the market authority announced that the facility would be closed at 2pm on Wednesday and that “nobody should attempt to come to the market on Thursday (today)”.