The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday blamed opposition parties for allegedly instigating the protests which rocked Niger and Kano States over hardships and high cost of living.
The party said the opposition did that to give the impression that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is under-performing.
Arise News reports that protests rocked Niger State on Monday as some youths and women resented what they perceived as mass purchase of food items for hoarding and export outside the country, as the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in a statement by its Senate President, Akinteye Babatunde, threatened to embark on street protests should the Federal Government fail to address inflation that has impoverished students across the country.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Wasiu Abiodun, said the police “had to use minimum force to disperse the protesters when all efforts to convince them to stop their action failed.”
The situation was similar in Osun State where residents cried out over worsening hardship in the country, calling on President Bola Tinubu and governors to act fast in fixing the battered economy.
While lamenting that they could barely eat daily as the cost of food items has been rising daily, the residents warned that citizens may be forced to hit the streets in protest soon if nothing is done to bring succour.
Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State lamented that many people in his state were living in misery, amid starvation and acute hunger, adding that inflation had terribly outpaced incomes, resulting in deaths, as several residents could not cope with the rising cost of living.
But reacting to the protests, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Felix Morka, in a statement advised Nigerians to be vigilant and not be gullible to the treacherous attempt by the opposition to promote social strife by its incendiary rhetoric and manipulative plots.
He said, “In its arrant desperation to portray the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration as under-performing, opposition parties have resorted to instigating unsuspecting young people to protests in the streets of some major cities.
“The protests in Minna and Kano on Monday were the manifestation of this devious and unpatriotic plot. That the protests happened simultaneously in both cities is not coincidental. It bears a bold stamp of an orchestrated and coordinated effort to instigate unrest and undermine the government. This mercenary opposition tactic is a clear and present threat to public peace and national security.
“While we recognize the right of citizens to engage in peaceful protest, we urge our good people to be vigilant and not lend themselves to the treacherous attempt by the opposition to promote social strife by its incendiary rhetoric and manipulative plots.
“The President Bola Tinubu-led administration is solidly committed to doing everything in its power to mitigate the transient pains of critically important reforms that are crucial to economic recovery and sustainable prosperity for all Nigerians. It behoves us as good citizens of our beloved country to stand fast with our government in this noble stride. In due time, these policy reforms will yield enduring beneficial transformation of the material conditions of life in the country.
“We implore Nigerians to shun the guile and unpatriotic attempt by opposition elements to destabilize the country for their own base and parochial political gains.”
Friday Olokor, Abuja
Follow us on:
