By Kingston Magare
President Bola Tinubu and his cabinet ministers are in full panic mood as organisers of the planned nationwide protest seem resolved to march out on August 1 to vent their anger over ever rising cost of living.
Fearing that any form of nationwide protest could spiral out of control, Tinubu’s cabinet ministers met Wednesday with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume, to find a way of nipping the protest in the bud.
All the 40 cabinet ministers were present in the meeting held behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa Abuja Wednesday.
Some of the Ministers spotted are Nyesom Wike (FCT), Yusuf Tuggar (Foreign Affairs), Zephaniah Jisalo (Special Duties), Tahir Mamman (Education), and Abubakar Bagudu (Budget and Planning).
Others are Wale Edun (Finance), Mohammed Idris (Information), Bello Matawalle (Defence), David Umahi (Works), and the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu.
President Tinubu and officials of his administration have urged the youths planning the protests to shelve their plans for the #EndBadGovernance protest slated to commence on August 1, while some other political individuals have asked for a dialogue, but so far, no group has owned up as being the brain behind the planned protest against economic hardship.
Speaking after the meeting, Minister for Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris told news reporters:
“Well, no one is going to sleep. Those that are agitating and asking for protests are Nigerians.
“They are our brothers; they are our sisters. Those also in positions of authority—the ministers, the president, and everybody else—are all Nigerians too. So, this is a family matter.
“This is a Nigerian family issue, and all of us are looking at this issue very well. We hope that peace will prevail at the end of the day.
“Many of the ministers are here; we have discussed issues of national interest, and all of us are working for Nigeria, and we hope and believe that Nigeria is going to be great again.
“If you have anything that you want to put out there, you are free to put it out there, but the government is insisting that we are all Nigerians,” he said.
“We have to be calm, be patient, and suffice it to say that let us give peace a chance. Mr. President is working round the clock, ministers are working, everyone is working. All hands are on deck.”
