Barely few hours to the planned nationwide hunger protest, a former federal lawmaker in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe, yesterday said it would be most unfair to blame the nation’s collective woes on the actions of one government that is barely two years in office.
Senator Abe in a statement who expressed doubts that the protest would be peaceful, added that the protest would disrupt economic activities and make a difficult situation, even for hard working Nigerians who are already suffering so much.
He said the proposed protest is totally unacceptable and unhelpful, stating that he had seen a lot of hate speech against the Tinubu government circulating online to justify the planned protest.
He said President Bola Tinubu’s administration is making concerted efforts to solve the myriads of challenges confronting the nation.
The statement reads “I am not silent on the planned protest. I do not believe in it and I don’t believe it will achieve much. Even if it is peaceful which I doubt that it will be, it will still disrupt economic activities and make a difficult situation, even more so, for hard working Nigerians who are already suffering so much.
“I have seen a lot of the hate speech against the Tinubu government circulating online to justify the planned protest.
“This is totally unacceptable and unhelpful. Nigeria is in a difficult economic situation, it is unfair to blame our collective woes as a nation on the actions of one government that is barely two years in office.
“Times are hard and our country needs an urgent reset, not just cosmetic changes – We all understand and accept that, and the Government is already taking serious steps to fundamentally reboot the economy.
“While a protest is constitutional and lawful, it will add nothing of value in our present circumstances. I am convinced that given the actions the government has taken so far, hope is around the corner and our economic circumstances will certainly improve.
“The reason I am speaking is because the President has taken a giant step to reboot the economy and Nigerians do not seem to grasp the impact of this giant leap.
“The national Oil swap policy which allowed NNPC to swap the 450,000 (four hundred and fifty thousand barrels of Nigerian crude oil meant for local consumption for finished petroleum products while maintaining 3 non operative refineries at prohibitive cost to the the Nation, started before the APC came to power. I have always believed that this policy was the reason NNPC never allowed the refineries to work.
“Today Tinubu has ended that policy and directed that the oil meant for local consumption be sold to local refiners including the Dangote refinery in Naira. In other words, the crude for local consumption will now be for local consumption. This is the most significant economic decision taken in this country in resent times. No one wants to give Tinubu credit for finally killing this golden goose of corruption.
“If the protest is about good governance, let us acknowledge the efforts the government is making in that direction and make concrete proposals for more constructive changes. We have a President who is on our side and committed to building a better country. Let’s be objective in our views.
“If the protest is genuinely about Nigeria, those who support the protest should own up to it, explain their reasons and come out to lead it, let us know what they want so we can compare it with what the government has done so far.
“No one should send others to protest, let them lead with their children who will also benefit from a better Nigeria.
“I appeal to all lovers of our country to ignore this protest, it is ill-timed, it is unhelpful and it will not make Nigeria better at this time. Let us come together and work together to make Nigeria better.”
