More Nigerians wallow in epic poverty, says TIB movement
Even as the Federal Government cancelled the scheduled military parade at the Eagle Square and nationwide broadcast to commemorate the 26th Democracy Day, today, the #EndBadGovernance Movement still called on Nigerians to troop out in their numbers to peacefully protest against the absence of genuine democracy, hunger, hardship and gross inequality in the country “that have been the hallmark of the President Bola Tinubu’s two years in power.”

In place of the nationwide broadcast, the President will participate in a joint session of the National Assembly at noon where he will deliver a speech on ‘Consolidating on the Gains of Nigeria’s Democracy: Necessity of Enduring Reforms’.

A statement to this effect was released last night by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Segun Imohiosen.

He explained: “Due to President Bola Tinubu’s scheduled attendance at the National Assembly Joint Session, the Presidential National Broadcast on June 12 has been cancelled.”

Also, the Take It Back (TIB) movement, Osun State chapter, demanded an end to hardship, insecurity and economic woes plaguing the nation, saying more Nigerians had been pushed into monumental poverty.

Hassan Taiwo ‘Soweto’ and Oloye Adeniji-Adegboyega, on behalf of the Organising Committee, #EndBadGovernance Movement, Lagos State, insisted that there is no going back on the scheduled rally in Ikeja.

They stated: “As we have informed earlier, the take-off point of the protest in Lagos is Ikeja Underbridge by 7.30 a.m. We urge workers, artisans, youth, students, market men and women, commercial motorcyclists, the unemployed and all oppressed Nigerians to come out on that day and join us for the peaceful procession.”

They charged the Commissioner of Police, Lagos, to respect the protesters’ rights to freedom of assembly.

“We say this due to the unfolding development from the office of the CP in Lagos. Last week, we wrote to notify the CP. However, police invited the organisers of the June 12 action to a security meeting/interactive session with the CP on Tuesday morning at the Police State Command, Ikeja Lagos,” the organisers stated.

The TIB movement also noted in a statement by its coordinator, Victor Lijofi, that the nation’s leadership prioritised greed over the interest of the citizenry, lamenting that the masses were finding it hard to meet their daily needs as a result of economic hardship.

The statement reads, “The present state of the country is nothing to write home about, as the promise of a renewed hope by President Tinubu has now turned to renewed hopelessness. As a matter of fact, 100 million people have been pushed below the poverty line due to poor healthcare, education, unemployment, insecurity, and a poor standard of living. This is because we have leadership, both at the federal and states, who prioritise their greed over the interest of the country. “

The movement demanded, among others “an end to terrorism, banditry, and insecurity in Nigeria, better funding of education, reversal of all fees in public schools across the country and replace student loans with grants.