Planned protest ill-timed, counterproductive – ACF
No protest, Yobe, Kogi declare; Police caution Abuja residents
By Mohammed I. Yaba (Kaduna), Habibu I. Gimba (Damaturu), Tijani Labaran (Lokoja) & Abbas Jimoh (Abuja)
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has distanced itself from the planned nationwide protests tagged #Endbadgovernance, deeming it illtimed and counterproductive.
An unknown group has invited Nigerians to a nationwide protest billed to start August 1, listing several demands to enhance good governance. ACF Chairman Mamman Mike Osuman stated this during a visit to Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State on Monday.
Osuman said, “We at ACF remain committed to articulating and defending the interests of the peoples of the North through our various activities. One such activity is the recently constituted Technical Committee that reviewed the 1999
Constitution (as amended) by the ACF.”
Also, the Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), CP Benneth Igweh, urged the residents not to join the protest to avoid damaging the new infrastructure implemented by the FCT administration and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The CP made this appeal while parading the mastermind of the armed robbery that killed retired Brigadier General Uwen Harold Udokwerre in Abuja on June 22, 2024.
Igweh said, “I am pleading with residents: do not join this protest. We don’t want miscreants outside the FCT to come and start destroying things. We will go back to square one.”
No protest in Yobe, Kogi
Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe
State has declared that the people of the state will not participate in any protest, but support the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to succeed.
He stated this during the launch of a mega agricultural empowerment programme by President Tinubu in Damaturu, the state capital.
Governor Buni reminded the people of the hardships faced during severe security challenges in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states when accessing farmlands was impossible due to a lack of peace.
He said, “We must not create opportunities for our common enemies to exploit any form of protest to send us into another dark and horrible experience. Yobe State categorically says NO to protests and will not participate in any form of protest by any name.”
Similarly, authorities in Kogi have declared that there will be no protests in the state, emphasizing the importance of maintaining peace and security. The state’s Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, disclosed this in a statement in Lokoja on Monday. He said any protest that could affect the nation’s economy negatively should be resisted by all and sundry.
Meanwhile, the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) has listed some ways to avert the planned nationwide protest over socio-economic hardships facing Nigerians.
In a letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Monday in Abuja, the NCEF leaders urged the president to immediately commence initiatives for a new constitution and national referendum as part of measures to nip the planned protest in the bud.
Dr Samuel Danjuma Gani, Chairman; Dr Saleh Hussaini, Vice Chairman (North); Elder Shyngle Wigwe, Vice Chairman (South); Mrs. Osaretin Demuren, Treasurer; Hon. Justice James Ogebe, JSC (rtd); Mr. Solomon Asemota, SAN; DIG P. L. Dabup, Dame Priscilla Kuye, Prof. Deborah Enilo Ajakaiye, HRM Oba Dokun Thompson, Admiral Peter Adeniyi (Rtd), Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, Secretary among others, jointly signed the letter.
They warned that if the federal government insists on maintaining its stranglehold on the country via the 1999 Constitution (as amended), it might unwittingly have signed up for a revolt by the populace.
They also listed credible fight against corruption and genuine independence of the judiciary and restoration of judicial integrity as part of the solutions to avert the protest and resolve the nation’s challenges.