Nationwide protest: SGF, ministers hold emergency meeting today

The Federal Government has scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday (today) morning in response to a planned nationwide protest slated for August 1.

This comes after President Bola Tinubu pleaded with the organisers to shelve the protests and give his administration more time to execute people-oriented programmes.

A circular shared with The PUNCH on Tuesday by sources with knowledge of the meeting indicated that all the ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume and the Special Advisers to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman; Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga and former Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, were among those invited for the meeting.

The circular, signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Affairs Office, Richard Pheelangwah, dated July 23, 2024, was titled, ‘Planned Nationwide Protest.’

It read, “I am directed to invite you to attend a meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on the above subject slated as follows: July 24, 2024, Time: 10 am prompt, Venue: Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Conference Room.

“Attendance is mandatory. Please, accept the warm regards of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”

The planned session is coming amid the clamour for nationwide protests from August 1 over the rising cost of living and the economic hardship in the country, which has blamed on the removal of fuel subsidy, the floating of the naira and other economic reforms implemented by the Tinubu administration.

The planned demonstration, inspired by the recent Kenya protests, has gained traction on social media, where it is trending under the hashtags ‘EndBadGovernance,’ ‘TinubuMustGo’ and ‘#Revolution2024.’

However, the Presidency and the police authorities called on youths to abandon the plan, describing it as ill-advised.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, on Tuesday conveyed the President’s plea to Nigerians in an interview with State House correspondents, after a meeting with Tinubu.

He said, “On the issue of the planned protest, Mr President does not see any need for that. He asked them to shelve that plan and he has asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas.

“So, there is no need for a strike. The young people out there should listen to the President and allow the President more time to see to the realisation of all the goodies he has for them.”

Idris said the President took the protesters’ grievances seriously and was committed to ensuring a better future for Nigeria.

He mentioned the speedy passage of the National Minimum Wage Bill by the National Assembly and the recent approval and delivery of grains to state governments as evidence of the President’s commitment to the welfare of Nigerians.

Tinubu pleads

Idris added, “We also discussed the issue of the country generally and Mr President has asked me to again inform Nigerians that he listens to them, especially the young people that are trying to protest.

“For example, you saw that the Federal Government approve grains and rice for state governments, it was delivered to them expeditiously also.

“Like I said the other time, it is just the necessary first step; the government is going to continue in that direction, supporting them and ensuring that whatever interventions the Federal Government has put in place go to those that should benefit. It is very important that is being put out.

“The Federal Government is looking at strategies that every intervention would go directly to those who benefit from those interventions, not middlemen intervening along the way.”

The minister also said President Tinubu was passionate about the newly launched Student Loan Board, which aimed at ensuring that every eligible student had access to tertiary education.

“It is no longer a time for all of us to stay back and see our young able-bodied men and women that have passed the examinations to go to tertiary institutions that have not been able to do that because their parents are not able to pay for their fees.

“This is a thing of the past, the government is very desirous of ensuring that happens. You know the provision that was made to NELFUND (Nigerian Education Loan Fund). Already, we have excess of what is required today and the more the people are requiring that, the more the President will also give.”

The Federal Government also said it was perfecting a scheme to support young graduates who were yet to secure employment after completing their National Youth Service programme.

The initiative, it said, was part of the administration’s commitment to leave no one behind in its quest for progress.

“There is also the intervention the President is working out for those young men and women who have finished school, but who are yet to get employed, post-NYSC.

“For example, there is a scheme the government is perfecting now and that is also going to be pushed fast so that all those young men and women who have finished school, graduates of universities and polytechnics that are unable to get jobs, they will continue to be supported by the government until such a time that those jobs are offered to them.

“The whole idea is that no one is left behind, it’s an all-inclusive government and the President is determined to ensure that no one is left behind in this his attempt to march Nigeria towards progress,” Idris further assured.

Also, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, said Nigeria had yet to recover from the 2020 #EndSARS protests, which resulted in the destruction of lives and properties across the country.

Speaking during a meeting with commissioners of police in Abuja, on Tuesday, Egbetokun noted that the country has had its fair share of violent protests with unpleasant consequences.

The IG added that the last #EndSARS protests aggravated crime rates and insecurity in parts of the country.

He said, “Before concluding this address, it is important I address an issue of urgent national importance which appears to have gained some momentum, particularly on social media, in the past few weeks.

“Some groups of people, self-appointed crusaders and influencers, have been strategizing and mobilizing potential protesters to unleash terror in the land under the guise of replicating the recent Kenya protests.

“While the Force acknowledges the right to peaceful protest as enshrined in our constitution, we must ensure that these protests do not snowball into violence or disorder. As a nation, we have had more than our fair share of violent protests, with rather dastardly consequences.

“The last #EndSars protest led to the destruction of public assets, including police stations, courts, and transport infrastructure, and the loss of several lives.”

He added, “Tales of sorrow, tears, and blood followed what was supposedly intended to be a well-intentioned exercise. Rather than lead to any positive outcome, #EndSars merely aggravated crime rates and insecurity in several parts of the country.

“Indeed, we are yet to fully recover from the huge economic losses and deep-seated psychological and emotional trauma inflicted upon our people by these protests.”

He urged the citizens to jettison the proposed protest, adding that the police has the responsibility to protect the citizens and their properties.

Egbetokun said, “Hence, our position is that the proposed violent protests are ill-advised and should be jettisoned fortuitously. We have the responsibility to protect properties and everyone, irrespective of their race, colour, ethnicity, or tribe, who are lawfully embarking on their daily activities.

“We will therefore not sit back and fold our arms to watch violent activities unleash violence on our peaceful communities or destroy any of our national critical infrastructure and assets again.”

The IG stated that measures were in place to ensure that any hoodlums attempting to disguise themselves as protesters will be apprehended.

Egbetokun warns

“We have mapped out plans to ensure that no individual or group succeeds in fostering a reign of terror and anarchy on other law-abiding and dissolving Nigerians.

“Consequently, I want to seize this opportunity to sound the note of serious warning to hoodlums who may want to take laws into their own hands in the name of protests,” he cautioned.

However, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described calls for the nationwide protests as treasonable.

He accused the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, and his supporters of masterminding the planned protests, alleging that “they are not democrats but anarchists.”

“If they understand the meaning of their hashtags, they will realise they are clarion calls for treason. Wanting to end an elected government is high treason. Wanting revolution is a call for a coup d’etat, which is also high treason,” the presidential aide said.

The Labour Party refuted the allegation that Obi and his supporters were behind the planned nationwide anti-government protests.

The National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, in a statement, said it was wrong of Onanuga to link the LP and its national leader to the protest.

In an interview with The PUNCH, Ifoh said the Presidency and security agents must tread carefully as any threat to clamp down on the people might be counter-productive.

LP against violence

He said, “As a party, we are not going to support any violent protest. But there is nothing wrong with a peaceful demonstration. What is important is that people should be allowed to speak their minds because we are in a democracy.

“Demonstration is backed by the law of the land. Freedom of speech and freedom of association is guaranteed all over the world, including the United States, the UK, Kenya and others.

“We saw what happened in Kenya a few weeks ago where people spoke their minds peacefully and the Kenyan government did the right thing. Nobody is asking for violence. Everybody that goes into violent protests should be made to pay the price. But we are insisting on allowing Nigerians to speak their mind through peaceful means.

“However, if there is any plan by anybody to introduce violence from any side, even from the government, that can never be part of it. That is our stance.”

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, described peaceful protests as the constitutional right of Nigerian citizens.

Atiku, the PDP’s 2023 Presidential candidate, emphasised the legal basis for public demonstrations in a post on X on Tuesday, saying, “For the avoidance of doubt, the rights of citizens to protest are enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution and affirmed by our courts.”

He cited Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which “unequivocally guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and association.”

The former Vice President criticised attempts to discourage or prevent the protests.

He stated, “Chasing shadows and contriving purported persons behind the planned protests is an exercise in futility when it is obvious that Nigerians, including supporters of Tinubu and the ruling APC, are caught up in the hunger, anger, and hopelessness brought about by the incompetence and cluelessness of this government.

“It is deeply ironic that those who now seek to stifle these rights were themselves leading protests in 2012.”

The statement further called on the government to fulfil its responsibilities in safeguarding the citizens’ rights.

“A responsible government must ensure a safe and secure environment for citizens to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed rights to peaceful protest,” Atiku stated.

“Any attempt to suppress these rights is not only unconstitutional but a direct affront to our democracy,” he declared.

PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, also cautioned the authorities against restraining the youths from protesting, describing it as a response to the absence of good governance.

In an interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday, Osadolor stated that the PDP did not support or oppose the planned protests, and urged Tinubu to resign if he was unable to resolve Nigeria’s problems.

The opposition party chieftain stated, “President Bola Tinubu should realise that when he led protests with the Save Nigeria groups during President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure, there was no law and nobody prevented him from protesting peacefully.

“Again, if there was good governance, nobody would protest. It is the absence of good governance that Nigerian youths are angry about. The economy is in jeopardy, more Nigerians are losing their jobs as a result of failed government policies, and there is hunger and anger in the land. And months after the removal of the fuel subsidy, the government has failed to come up with cushioning measures.”

However, the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, described the planned demonstration as “political gimmicks” by those seeking to gain popularity.

Speaking during an inspection of the Apo-Karshi Road project on Tuesday, Wike stated, “The country was rotten, you know that the country was rotten, and then a government has just come to see what it can do, at least to move from where we are to a certain level. And you say that a miracle must be performed within one year?”

In the same vein, the Cross River State Government has urged residents of the state not to participate in the August 1 protest, citing the violence that trailed the #EndSARS protests.

The state Commissioner for Information, Dr Erasmus Ekpang, in a statement in Calabar, on Tuesday, said that though Nigerians were passing through a difficult time, the government at all levels was showing ‘’Enormous commitment to the wellbeing of the citizenry.’’

Also, a businessman and Egba High Chief, Yinka Kufile, cautioned against any violent protest. “Such an unreasonable move will always aggravate the challenge at hand, causing destruction of properties and avoidable loss of life,” Kufile stated this at a press briefing in Abeokuta.

• Additional report: Adebayo Folorunsho-Francis, Abdulrahman Zakariyau, Nathaniel Shaibu, Bankole Taiwo and Ted Odogwu