Protest will not end hardship, says Anglican Bishop

The Bishop of Anglican Communion, Calabar Diocese, Rt. Rev. Nneoyi Egbe has strongly advised against planned national protest, stating that it would not bring to an end the economic hardship faced by the citizens.

Egbe stated this yesterday during an interview with The Guardian in Calabar, noting that if there must be a protest, necessary processes should be taken.

He said the worrisome part was that the organisers of the planned protest are faceless and this would give room to hoodlums to hijack the process.

“We need a solid guarantee for a peaceful protest before we can endorse one. As it stands, we do not have such, so for us, it’s no protest!

“We will not need protests to drive home our points if we had a serious, sensitive, people-focused government. Several reasons have been touted for this protest, some of which good governance and a functioning judiciary system would have easily sorted out.

“The planners of this protest are faceless and many want to capitalize on this to unleash their characteristic evil plans to cause trouble. If we must have a protest, which is a right, then due and necessary processes must be in place to forestall any interference and hijack by bad elements. We will welcome and support a peaceful protest, but this is hard to guarantee.”

While urging Nigerians to shun any plan to protest and stay off the streets, he said, “We in Cross River state are yet to recover from the losses of ENDSARS 2020. So there is no room to accommodate another protest good or bad because we cannot guarantee the outcome.

“Well-meaning Nigerians should stay off the streets and more than anything else, save lives and property. let’s not give opportunity to devils to carry out their We need a solid guarantee for a peaceful protest before we can endorse one. As it stands, we do not have such, so for us, it’s no protest!”