The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, on Monday, urged youth and other aggrieved Nigerians to shelve their planned protest, saying their grievances were being addressed.
Some individuals have mobilised to start a protest tagged #EndBadGovernance beginning from August 1.
As the plan gathers momentum, the federal government, its agencies and the security establishment have been calling for restraint, even as regional and religious groups have also called on citizens to give the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration more time to address their grievances.
Addressing reporters after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the information minister said: “While you are thinking of protesting, government is appealing to you to first shelve it because it has the great likelihood that this protest may be hijacked and may turn violent by unscrupulous elements, and Nigeria will not be good for it.
“Of course, we know that people are saying that there is no intention for violence in this, but our history has shown that there is the possibility that this protest can be hijacked and could turn violent.
“The president is already protesting on their behalf by doing those things that they want a government to do. For example, the effort that government is making in ensuring that food is being made available. The last council meeting here at the briefing, we announced that a number of trucks, 20 precisely, had been given to the state governors for onward distribution to the poorest of the poor in society and those who are actually in need, Daily Trust reports.
“Government did not stop; there is also rice that is being sold at about 50 per cent of its cost, a bag of rice is being sold as we speak now. This rice has been taken to various centres across all the states of the federation, and is being sold at N40,000. Centres have been created so that those who need this rice can go there and buy.
“In the first instance, about 10 trucks have been made available to each of these states and indeed, this is just the beginning. I know that some of the comments you hear is that it is never enough. Government has not pretended that these supplies are indeed enough. But these are necessary first steps that are being made and more of such interventions are being made in the interim. Of course, this is like I said an interim measure because there is so much investment that is going into the agricultural sector”, he said.
