Hunger protest: OPC reveals three things Tinubu can do urgently

• The OPC has called on President Bola Tinubu to ensure dialogue with organisers of the hunger protest across the country
• Otunba Wasiu Afolabi, the president of the group, the president and the organisers of the protest must avoid the Kenya-like protest
• Afolabi then made three demands from the president, which included the opening of land borders across the southern region

The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) has called for dialogue between the government and protest leaders to address economic hardships caused by President Bola Tinubu's reforms.

Otunba Wasiu Afolabi, the president of the socio-cultural group, made the call in a statement on Tuesday, July 30, while commenting on the planned nationwide hunger protest scheduled to be held between August 1 and 10.

OPC speaks on hunger protest in Nigeria Photo Credit: @officialABAT
Source: Twitter

According to Tribune, Afolabi, in the statement, demanded the opening of land borders across the southern region, bringing back the refineries and cutting the cost of governance. The group advised on the avoidance of Kenya-like protests, adding that dialogue is the best option.

OPC opens land borders

The OPC urged the president to open land borders in the Southern part of the country to import food items and reduce prices. The organization cautioned protesters to embrace dialogue and avoid violence.

The OPC called on President Tinubu to issue an Executive Order opening up borders in the South-West and South-South to allow for the rapid inflow of food.

According to the group, high food prices can lead to anger and unrest, and the government must take action to address this issue. The OPC then urged the government to fix the nation's refineries to produce domestic fuel and solve the problem of inadequate and expensive petroleum products.

OPC asks Tinubu to bring back refineries

The organization questioned why the maintenance of refineries has been an impossible task since 1999. The OPC called for the identification and apprehension of cabals making life difficult for common Nigerians.

"If one man, Aliko Dangote, can build a refinery in less than 10 years, how can ordinary maintenance of four full-fledged and functional refineries become impossible since 1999, when civilians took over power? What is the mystery?"

Reduce cost of governance, OPC tells Tinubu

The organization also called for a reduction in the cost of governance, stating that politicians must adopt austerity measures.

The OPC asked the police to prevent the demonstration from being hijacked by hoodlums who could use the protest for looting and mayhem.

The organization warned against allowing the protest to spiral out of control, citing the example of Kenya, where demonstrations degenerated into violence and destruction of property.

Source: Legit.ng