Aiyedatiwa begs Nigerians to shelve hunger protest

As the youths prepare to hold a nationwide protest across Nigeria on Thursday, the Ondo State Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has appealed to them to be patient with the current administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The governor, who acknowledged the harsh economy in the country, said the economic problems were not peculiar to Nigeria and described the situation as global. He noted that the Tinubu administration was making efforts to address all the economic challenges, which only needed a little time.

The governor stated this at the inaugural general meeting of the Independent Campaign Team of the All Progressives Congress Aborigines Group in Akure, the state capital, on Monday.

Aiyedatiwa also called on parents to caution their children against joining the protest, which could be hijacked by hoodlums.

He said, “I want to implore us parents to talk to our youths. The system must run its course; it is not a one-day pronouncement that will bring prices down. All we need is to support the federal government.

“The protest will yield nothing. We need engagement on how to boost our production. We don’t need the protest in Ondo State. The economic situation is global. Today, everyone in the UK and US is complaining about the increase in prices. So, it is not peculiar to our country.

“Let us be patient with President Tinubu. He has inherited a lot of problems from the past administration and he needs a little time to put everything back in good shape. Parents, let’s talk to our youths.”

In his remarks, the chairman of the APC Aborigines Group, Ambassador Sola Iji, called on the youths to be peaceful, saying the government was taking several measures to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians.

Iji, a former Ambassador to Togo, said, “This may not be the proper time to hold the protest people are talking about. We know that people have genuine reasons to complain, but it is so sensitive at the current time that we don’t want the situation to degenerate.

“The people should be calm. Our governors are not deaf; they know that people are angry, and they have assured that the situation will be ameliorated.”