The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has again warned against any planned demonstrations, saying the nation’s capital is not available for any nationwide protest.
Wike, former Rivers State Governor, stated this on Thursday while addressing some FCT residents during an inspection tour in Saburi.
“For those who want to protest on the 1st, FCT is not available for such protests,” he said while urging residents to desist from embarking on such act.
According to the minister, organising a protest won’t solve the challenges currently bedevilling the nation but rather a joint effort from every well-meaning Nigerian .
He further said top political heads and other leaders who have thrown in support for the protest don’t mean good for the country but rather only doing so for their selfish interest
While acknowledging the prevailing poverty in the country, Wike stated that the President Bola Tinubu led administration is doing everything possible to address the situation and improve the living conditions of all citizens.
He, therefore, called on Nigerians have to exercise patience with the Federal Government.
This is the second time in a week Wike is warning against the planned nationwide protest.
On Tuesday, he described the planned demonstration as politically induced, saying the idea is to divert the attention of Nigerians from efforts by the current administration.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu, governors and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have appealed to Nigerians to shelve the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for next month.
The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, 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 faceless.
Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last months, as Nigerians battle one of the country’s worst inflation and economic crisis sparked by the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.