As some youth organizations and groups insisted on embarking on nationwide protests against the current economic hardship in the country, the Senate has urged them to give the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government more time to address their concerns.
The youths had fixed August 1 to 10 as the period of the protests across the country even as many groups at every level have opted out of the action and declared their support for the government.
Speaking at the emergency plenary summoned on Wednesday, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio urged the organisers of the planned protests to give the government more time, saying one year is too short to address their grievances.
“I kindly urge you that one year is not long enough for the policies being implemented by the current administration of the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to yield the desired results.
“The Senate urges the protesters to give the government more time to address their demands, considering the measures being put in place to ameliorate the situation in the country, such as the National Minimum Wage Act, the sale of crude oil to local refiners in naira, the implementation of Students Loan Act, the assent recently granted to the South-East Development Commission and the North West Development Commission, bills passed by the National Assembly to further address developments at the grassroots,” Akpabio stated.
According to him, the Senate, and in fact, the entire National Assembly, is willing to legislate on all matters that will bring about a succor to Nigerians in general.
The Senate cut short its annual recess to hold the emergency session, an action Akpabio called “patriotic”.
Also yesterday, Secretary to the government of the Federation Senator George Akume, Ministers of Finance, Information and National Orientation, Budget and National Planning and Solid Minerals : Wale Edun , Mohammed Idris, Atiku Bagudu, Dele Alake respectively pleaded with the youths to give President Bola Tinubu more time for policies put in place to yield the desired results.
At a joint press conference in Abuja they enumerated several projects and schemes introduced by President Tinubu in the last one year , including student loan scheme, unemployment graduate support scheme, CGN, sales of crude oil to local refineries, etc, and argued that the policies should be allowed to mature and yield results .
They acknowledged citizens constitutional right to peaceful protest but warned that the planned mass protects would lead to violence and suffering.