Ahead of the planned nationwide protest addressing hardship, poverty, and high cost of living, the Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to engage in talks with the protesters.
The protest tagged ‘EndBadGovernance’ has gained traction on social media and has been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August.
The organisers of the protest have been anonymous.
Worried by the implications on the economy, the lawmakers want President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address the concerns of the protesters.
This was part of the Caucus’ resolution at the end-of-session dinner in Abuja.
Briefing journalists after the dinner on Tuesday in Abuja, the Chairman of the Caucus, Hon Kingsley Chinda, however, discouraged the planned protest, especially against the background of insecurity in parts of the country.
“We also appealed to the government to dialogue with the planned protesters and also look at some of the messages they are raising, the critical areas that need government intervention. Government should intervene and ensure that issues are resolved amicably,” he said.
“We are not going to encourage any protesters because in the past we have observed in most cases that even peaceful protests have been overtaken by hoodlums and with the insecurity situation in some parts of the country, you may not have control of the gathering of people. So some unscrupulous people may use the opportunity to create chaos.
“So we are discouraging any protest but we appeal to the government to dialogue and also look at critical areas that are necessary and address them amicably.”
Chinda also advised the government to adopt the carrot-and-stick method in addressing the problem of insecurity in the country.
“We acknowledge and observe the insecurity situation in the country and we call on the government to use carrot and stick by ensuring that let the result be seen. Let all the security chiefs do what is right to ensure that Nigerians are protected,” he said.
The Caucus also called on the government to create means to ensure citizens are self-reliant in a bid to tackle the economic downturn in the country.