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Nationwide Protest May Lead to Anarchy, FG Warns
The Federal Government has warned that there would be dire consequences for the stability of the country if a nationwide protest being planned by some Nigerians goes ahead from the beginning of next month.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, met with ministers in his office behind closed doors to try to avert the protest.
But Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday, dismissed reports that it was withdrawing from the proposed national protest by some citizens over the harsh economic situation in the country, saying it cannot be part of an idea that did not emanate from it.
South-east Governors’ Forum also distanced itself from the planned nationwide protests, citing concerns about the fragile political environment and potential hijack by criminal elements.
At the same time, some stakeholders, including some northern groups, opposed the idea of protest in the wake of harsh economic conditions. Instead, they recommended an engagement with the federal government.
But the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which supported the protest, said it was a constitutional right of the people.
In a similar vein, Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives urged the federal government to dialogue with planned protesters with a view to addressing their concerns.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammad Idris, issued the warning against the protest yesterday, when he received members of the Charismatic Bishops Conference, led by Archbishop (Professor) Leonard Kawas, who were on a courtesy visit to him, at his office in Abuja.
Idris said government was cautious and bothered about the protest against economic hardship, having seen the debilitating consequences of similar protests in other parts of the world, particularly in Kenya and Bangladesh.
The minister voiced concern that arsonists and criminals might be waiting to hijack the planned protest and unleash violence on innocent Nigerians.
Idris stated, “Why everybody is very cautious and very 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.”
He said while the government of President Bola Tinubu acknowledged the right of every Nigerian to engage in protests, it was equally committed to ensuring that the activities did not disrupt public order or violate the rights of others.
According to him, “You see, the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu believes in the freedom of everyone within the confirms 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 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.”
Idris asserted that Tinubu was fully aware of the feelings of Nigerians across the country and he was actively working to implement effective policies aimed at alleviating the challenges faced by the citizenry and bringing relief to all Nigerians.
The minister said one of the policies being fine-tuned by government was to begin to pay stipends to all young university and polytechnics graduates after the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, pending their formal employment.
He stated, “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.”
He described the introduction of the Compressed National Gas (CNG) policy by the president as a game changer in the country’s economy because of its ability to bring down the cost of transportation by about 60 per cent, thereby providing a viable alternative to petrol and diesel.
Idris said, henceforth, any government procurement of vehicles or machinery must have a component of CNG embedded in the contracts.
Earlier, President General of the Charismatic Bishops Conference, dissociated the conference from the planned national protest, saying they have been inundated with calls by some groups to join the protest.
Kawas said, “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 appealed to aggrieved Nigerians in all parts of the country to give peace a chance and toe the path of dialogue and negotiation because no reasonable government will fold its hands and allow violence to break down the country.
A former President of the Senate, and chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees, Senator Adolphus Wabara, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of pushing Nigerians into poverty.
Wabara said the economic policies of Tinubu’s administration have worsened hardship across Nigeria.
He spoke during the board’s emergency meeting in Abuja on Thursday, saying: “The skyrocketing cost of living, coupled with poorly implemented economic reforms, has pushed millions into deeper poverty.”
Wabara stressed the importance of prioritising party unity and collective progress over personal ambitions.
“We cannot afford to let personal ambitions or differences overshadow our shared vision for a better Nigeria,” he added.
The Federal Government has fired some civil servants with degrees from private tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo, according to The Punch report.
The directive affected federal workers who graduated from the institutions from 2017 to date.
The Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, confirmed the development to one of our correspondents on Wednesday.
In August, the Federal Government announced that only eight universities had been accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic.
This followed an undercover investigation report in which a Daily Nigerian journalist acquired a degree from a university in Benin Republic in two months and used it to participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme.
Following the report, the government banned the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.
The Federal Government also set up an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling to probe the activities of certificate racketeers.
The then Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo and such certificates would be cancelled.
Mamman explained that the revelation was part of a report submitted to the Federal Executive Council by the investigative committee instituted to probe degree certificate racketeering by foreign and local universities in Nigeria.
He insisted there was no going back on the Federal Government’s decision to cancel the about 22,500 certificates awarded to Nigerians by some “fake” universities in the two francophone countries.
Mamman maintained that the decision to invalidate the certificates was not harsh as Nigerians who obtained degree certificates from such tertiary institutions dent the country’s image.
He said, “Most of those parading the fake certificates didn’t even leave the shores of Nigeria but got their certificates through racketeering in collaboration with government officials at home and abroad.
“The fake universities capitalised on the gullibility of Nigerians patronising such fake schools. The Federal Government, through the offices of the Head of Civil Service and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, would fish out those in the government’s employment with such fake certificates. I also urge the private sector to follow suit.”
Although the exact number of affected civil servants could not be ascertained, it was gathered that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Cabinet Affairs) had issued a memo to all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to implement the order.
A source, who pleaded anonymity because she was not authorised to speak on the matter, told The Punch that the sacking of the affected workers was based on the inter-ministerial committee’s recommendation.
The official stated, “There was a letter from the SGF cabinet affairs directing all ministries, departments and agencies of government to identify and terminate the appointments of workers employed with certificates obtained from the private universities in the Republic of Benin and Togo from 2017 to date.
“The decision is part of the recommendations of the committee set up to investigate the certificates of people who graduated from the universities.”
Our correspondent also gathered that some agencies like the National Youth Services Corps have commenced the implementation of the directive.
The NYSC Director of Information, Caroline Embu, confirmed to our correspondent that five members of staff had been sacked in line with the SGF’s directive.
She said, “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the office of the SGF. No more.”
