Protest: Convene stakeholders’ meeting, Lagos Assembly urges Sanwo-Olu

• Pleads with youths to shelve action • Oluwo implores Tinubu to seek dialogue
• Aiyedatiwa, Afenifere caution against plan • Ondo NURTW vows not to participate

Lagos State House of Assembly, yesterday, called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to take major steps to avert the planned nationwide protest in the state.

The lawmakers, in a ‘matter of urgent public importance’ moved by Majority Leader, Noheem Adams, noted the devastation caused by the #EndSARS protest in Lagos and urged the governor to organise town-hall meetings with major stakeholders to fashion out ways to calm the youths and those planning to support the protest.

One of the meetings, according to the motion of the House, should be held between the governor and elected political leaders, including senators, members of the House of Representatives and state lawmakers, while a second meeting should be held with traditional rulers, religious leaders, heads of market, those in the transport sectors and related stakeholders.

Speaker of the House, Dr Mudashiru Obasa, said it was necessary for state governments to do the needful to calm frayed nerves and ensure protection of lives and property.

Meanwhile, the Paramount Ruler of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to invite stakeholders for dialogue ahead of the planned protest.

In a statement by his Press Secretary, Alli Ibraheem, Oluwo said that consultation should be made to avert violent confrontation by inviting the stakeholders for national discourse.

Similarly, Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has urged residents of the state, particularly members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the state, not to participate in planned nationwide protests in the country.

According to the governor, during a peace meeting with former chairmen, leaders, and members of the NURTW in the state, the protest bore the semblance of the #EndSARS saga and the Kenya scenario.

Aiyedatiwa, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Union Matters, Bola Taiwo, appealed to NURTW members to shun the protest in the interest of the state and the people.

In their response, the three former chairmen of the NURTW in the state, Solomon Adejayan, Oladutele Obayoriade and Jacob Adebo, as well as chairman of the union, Ademola Odudu, assured the governor that there would be no protest in the state.

Also, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, appealed to Nigerians to be circumspect on the issue of the nationwide protests being contemplated by some people in the country.

A statement by the organisation’s National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, said that while the people have an inalienable right to protest, consideration should be given to the general atmosphere surrounding the planned protest.