Nigerian Govt Holds Emergency Meeting Over Planned Nationwide Protest Against hunger
By Fatima Mohammed
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, met with ministers on Wednesday to address a planned nationwide hunger protest against economic hardship by youths.
The emergency meeting, held behind closed doors, included all over 40 ministers in President’s cabinet.
The ministers present are Nyesom Wike (Federal Capital Territory), Yusuf Tuggar (Foreign Affairs), Zephaniah Jisalo (Special Duties), Tahir Mamman (Education), Abubakar Bagudu (Budget and Planning), Wale Edun (Finance), Mohammed Idris (Information), Bello Muhammad (Defence), and David Umahi (Works).
Briefing the Press after the meeting, the Information Minister, Mohammed Idris, appealed to Nigerians to give the government more time to address the country’s economic challenges.
He assured the youth that the government has been engaging all concerned parties to resolve the issues in the nation’s interest and stated there was no need for the planned protest.
President Bola Tinubu had, earlier on Tuesday, also appealed to Nigerians to cancel the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest scheduled for August.
The protest, aimed at prevailing on government to address economic hardship facing the citizens, has long been trending on social media and is planned to be held across all states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August.
However, the organizers of the protest have remained anonymous.
Nigerians have been grappling with one of the country’s worst periods of inflation and economic crisis, exacerbated by the government’s policies of removing petrol subsidies and unifying forex windows. Prices of food and basic commodities have soared in recent months, leading to widespread discontent and calls for protest.
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