Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has urged organizers of the planned nationwide protest to consider the potential consequences of their actions.
He stated this when he received the Charismatic Bishop Conference on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja on Wednesday, said the government was aware that some people would want to hijack the planned protest and unleash violence on innocent Nigerians.
While acknowledging the right to protest, Idris emphasized the government’s commitment to maintaining public order and protecting citizens’ rights.
He noted that some individuals may hijack the protest to unleash violence, and highlighted the government’s efforts to address citizens’ concerns through policies aimed at alleviating challenges, according to Peoples Gazette.
Idris mentioned initiatives such as paying stipends to unemployed graduates, increasing the national minimum wage, and improving security.
The minister said, “He said, “You see, the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu believes in the freedom of everyone within the confines of the law to do what he thinks is right for him. Therefore, the President is not an opponent of protest of any kind but the President is an opponent of violence and anything that will negatively hamper the wellbeing of Nigerians. He believes and he has always been saying that within the tenets of democracy, you have every right to do whatever you want to do provided that right does not infringe on another person’s right.
“Why everybody is very cautious and weary of this national protest is because we have seen what has happened around the world. We know that it’s almost impossible to hold this protest and then have peace at the end of the day. We cannot do that because some people are waiting to take the laws into their own hands.
“But beyond that, there is also another new policy that the President has formulated, which will begin to be seen very soon and that is that all young men and women who have finished universities and polytechnics and have certificates and have done their mandatory NYSC and have not been able to get jobs, will have something from the government to keep them afloat until the time they get jobs.”
The Charismatic Bishop Conference, led by Archbishop Leonard Kawas, dissociated themselves from the planned protest and instead called for peace and dialogue with the government.
In his remarks, the President General of the Charismatic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Leonard Kawas, dissociated the conference from the planned national protest, saying they had been approached by some groups to join the protest.
“Your Excellency, recently we received some calls from some other religious organisations and other organisations asking us to join in preparation for a nationwide protest, which would start from 1st August 2024. We are here to let you know that we do not think the same. That we have rather decided to go all out and call for a truce. We have decided to sue for peace and humbly request that our brothers and sisters who are aggrieved in one way or the other, that they should give us some time while we continue to communicate and negotiate with this government on areas that are pertinent to them,” he said.
