SGF, ministers, convene urgent meeting amid nationwide protests
The Federal Government has called an emergency meeting for this morning, Wednesday, in reaction to the August 1 countrywide protest.
This comes after President Bola Tinubu begged the protest organizers to call off the demonstrations and give his administration more time to carry out initiatives aimed at improving the lives of people.
All of the ministers, George Akume, the secretary to the government of the federation, Hadiza Bala-Usman, the special adviser to the president on policy and coordination, Bayo Onanuga, the information and strategy minister, and Sunday Dare, the former minister of youth and sports, were among those invited to the meeting, according to a circular that sources with knowledge of the meeting shared with newsmen on Tuesday.
The July 23, 2024, circular bearing the signature of Richard Pheelangwah, Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Affairs Office, was headed “Planned Nationwide Protest.”
It read, “I am directed to invite you to attend a meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on the above subject slated as follows: July 24, 2024, Time: 10 am prompt, Venue: Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Conference Room.
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“Attendance is mandatory. Please, accept the warm regards of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
The scheduled meeting comes amid calls for nationwide protests to begin on August 1st in response to the nation’s growing cost of living and economic hardship, which have been attributed to the Tinubu administration’s fuel subsidy removal, naira floating, and other economic reforms.
Inspired by the recent protests in Kenya, the planned event has acquired momentum on social media, rising under the hashtags #Revolution2024, #EndBadGovernance, and Tinubu Must Go.
But the President and law enforcement officials urged young people to drop the idea, calling it foolish.
Following a meeting with Tinubu, the President’s appeal to Nigerians was communicated by Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris on Tuesday in an interview with State House media.
“Mr. President does not see any need for that, in regards to the planned protest,” he stated. He requested that they put that idea on hold and wait for the government to respond to all of their requests.
Thus, a strike is not necessary. The President should be listened to by the youth of today, and they should give him more time to see that all of his gifts to them are realized.
Following a meeting with Tinubu, the President’s appeal to Nigerians was communicated by Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris on Tuesday in an interview with State House media.
He said, “On the issue of the planned protest, Mr President does not see any need for that. He asked them to shelve that plan and he has asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas.
“So, there is no need for a strike. The young people out there should listen to the President and allow the President more time to see to the realisation of all the goodies he has for them.”
According to Idris, the President is dedicated to securing a better future for Nigeria and has given serious consideration to the demonstrators’ complaints.
As proof of the President’s dedication to the well-being of Nigerians, he cited the National Assembly’s swift ratification of the National Minimum Wage Bill and the recent approval and distribution of grains to state governments.
Idris added, “We also discussed the issue of the country generally and Mr President has asked me to again inform Nigerians that he listens to them, especially the young people that are trying to protest.
“For example, you saw that the Federal Government approve grains and rice for state governments, it was delivered to them expeditiously also.
“Like I said the other time, it is just the necessary first step; the government is going to continue in that direction, supporting them and ensuring that whatever interventions the Federal Government has put in place go to those that should benefit. It is very important that is being put out.
“The Federal Government is looking at strategies that every intervention would go directly to those who benefit from those interventions, not middlemen intervening along the way.”
The minister also said President Tinubu was passionate about the newly launched Student Loan Board, which aimed at ensuring that every eligible student had access to tertiary education.
“It is no longer a time for all of us to stay back and see our young able-bodied men and women that have passed the examinations to go to tertiary institutions that have not been able to do that because their parents are not able to pay for their fees.
“This is a thing of the past, the government is very desirous of ensuring that happens. You know the provision that was made to NELFUND (Nigerian Education Loan Fund). Already, we have excess of what is required today and the more the people are requiring that, the more the President will also give.”
The Federal Government also said it was perfecting a scheme to support young graduates who were yet to secure employment after completing their National Youth Service programme.
The initiative, it said, was part of the administration’s commitment to leave no one behind in its quest for progress.
“There is also the intervention the President is working out for those young men and women who have finished school, but who are yet to get employed, post-NYSC.
“For example, there is a scheme the government is perfecting now and that is also going to be pushed fast so that all those young men and women who have finished school, graduates of universities and polytechnics that are unable to get jobs, they will continue to be supported by the government until such a time that those jobs are offered to them.
“The whole idea is that no one is left behind, it’s an all-inclusive government and the President is determined to ensure that no one is left behind in this his attempt to march Nigeria towards progress,” Idris further assured.
Additionally, Nigeria has not yet recovered from the 2020 #EndSARS protests, which claimed lives and destroyed property throughout the nation, according to Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at Neptune Prime.
