Shelve planned protest, Nasarawa Speaker appeals to Nigerians

Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Mr. Danladi Jatau, has appealed to Nigerians to shelve the planned August 1 nationwide protests and give the government more time to fix the problems facing the country.

The speaker made the call on Sunday in Lafia while reacting to the planned hunger protests by Nigerians scheduled to take place from Aug. 1 to Aug. 10. The speaker said the planned 10-day protests against hunger aimed at ending bad governance in the country should be reconsidered.

“And dialogue should take the centre stage from both sides to reach an amicable resolution and workable solutions,” he said.

Jatau urged the citizens to give the government more time to address the economic situation and other challenges facing the country. He said that giving the government more time would enable them to roll out more different policies and programs that would improve the standard of living of Nigerians.

The speaker believed that the problems were surmountable with both short-term and long-term measures, hence the need for his call for more time to be given to the government to fix the problems.

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“His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, and our own Governor of Nasarawa State, Mr. A. A. Sule is rolling out different intervention programs that will address hunger and hardship in the land.

“I want to appeal to our citizens and other Nigerians not to protest on the economic situation, but they should pray and support the government at all levels to address the challenges which no doubt are enormous.

“As prayer is key and solution to every problem, and every leader needs prayers and support from his people to succeed.

“I want to urge Nigerians to give the government more time so that it will roll out more poverty eradication programs in the land,” Jatau said.

The Nasarawa state number three citizens also called for calm while urging the youths not to take the law into their hands. He also called on the security agencies to ensure the protection of lives and property as well as ensure that peace continues to reign supreme in the country.

The speaker used the medium to call on stakeholders, both religious, community, and political leaders in the country, to advise their subjects not to protest. “But show more patience, understanding, and support for the government to succeed, considering the unforeseen effect of the protest.

“I want to advise stakeholders, both political, religious, and traditional, to join hands with the government to address the challenges facing the country.

“They should talk to their subjects to shun the planned hunger protest scheduled for August in the country, considering what may be its effect,” he added.

The speaker assured of his leadership’s commitment to pass laws and make resolutions that will improve the standard of living of the people of the state.

“I want to assure the government of the 7th Assembly’s readiness under my watch to give all the maximum support to address the hardship and other challenges facing the society.

“We will do what is humanly possible to improve the standard of living of our people,” Jatau said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there is a planned 10-day nationwide protest against hunger and hardship in the country aimed at ending bad governance. Some of the demands include the reduction in fuel, diesel, and gas prices, opening borders for a free economy, fishing out sponsors of insecurity, reduction in school fees, hospital bills, and the salary of public office holders, among others.