Review harsh economic policies, address Nigerians, PDP tells Tinubu

• Wike: Senator sponsoring anti-government protests in Abuja
•Sultan goes spiritual, calls for calm 
• Protests mishandled by govt, says HURIWA

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has charged the Federal Government to immediately review all its “anti-people policies that are asphyxiating life in the country,” noting that the nationwide protest by Nigerians would not have come if government had demonstrated sincere commitment to the citizens by taking steps to address the current hardship.
   
In a statement by its national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP charged President Bola Tinubu to address Nigerians urgently and effect major changes to the harsh economic policies. 
 
“What Nigerians expect at this time is for President Tinubu to personally address the nation, announce major policy reviews and order investigation into the alleged looting of subsidy and palliative funds. Mr. President should also review all luxury items and purchases in the APC government and channel the resources for immediate intervention in the provision of food and other essential commodities to Nigerians,” it advised.
   
But the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has alleged that a senator was sponsoring anti-government protests in Abuja and has been identified by the security agencies .
 
Speaking after a Security Council meeting in Abuja and a meeting at Aso Villa with the president, Wike said the unnamed senator provided food for the protesters.
   
According to him, the unidentified senator is one of those sponsoring the anti-government protest and the individual will soon be invited for interrogation by security agencies.
   
Following the hunger and hardship protest across several parts of the country and the violence it has generated, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has appealed to protesters and the conveners to sheath their swords and come to the dialogue table. The Sultan also went spiritual in his plea for the protesters to exercise restraint quoting the Qur’an 6:43 saying, ““When the suffering reached them from us, why then did they not learn humility?” Qur’an 6:43.
   
He made this known in a statement signed by Prof. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu Secretary-General of Jama”tu Nasril Islam (JNI). It reads: “With the ongoing protests in Nigeria and the information reaching His Eminence, he once again appeals to the protest conveners, their covert and overt benefactors, as well as other critical stakeholders to sheath their swords and urgently come to the table for dialogue. We genuinely feared escalation to an uncontrollable scenario and the reports are tilting towards that.”
   
According to him, with today being Friday, Jumu’ah Mosque Imams and Muslim leaders are implored to calm frayed nerves and call on the Ummah to appreciate peace rather than chaotic state of affairs, which may even deny congregational prayers.
   
But the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has blamed pockets of violence that characterised the commencement of the #EndBadGovernance protests across the country on government’s attempt to muzzle and stifle fundamental rights of citizens to protest peacefully. 
 
HURIWA through its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged the Federal Government to implement the demands of the protesters and salvage the value of the naira.
   
The group in a statement also urged the federal government to check the uncontrolled inflation, check the unprecedented hike in the pump price of petroleum products, fight corruption, reduce the costs of governance by pruning down the number of ministers and aides, reorganise the ministry for humanitarian affairs and poverty Alleviation and fight terrorism with all vigour instead of the dubious ways that the counter terrorism war is being waged.