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Two parallel groups, for and against Tinubu’s government staged their protest in Yola as security agents averted a clash by the two groups.
As the two groups marched in opposite routes, the situation got tensed, as they started infiltrating into each other leading to commotion and verbal abuse.
The presence of heavily armed personnel prevented the situation from degenerating into a free for all fight.
No breach of peace has been recorded in Adamawa, even as the situation has created fear among the people.
….Warns against any attempt to arrest Obi
National Chairman of Abia State Elders Consultative Forum, Archbishop Professor Princewilll Ariwodor, has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to honourablly quit if he had no solution to the crumbling Nigerian economy.
The cleric who was recently elected the world President of International College and Council of Bishops and Apostles, ICCOBA, in Dublin, spoke with Vanguard in the wake of the nationwide protest against hunger and bad governance.
He argued that the President should not have made himself available to lead the country if he knew he had no solution to the challenges plaguing the nation particularly the hardship created by his anti-people policies.
Professor Ariwodor cautioned Government against any attempt to scare citizens from holding peaceful protest, describing such as an ambush against democracy.
He described the precarious economic situation in the country, and called for urgent action to revamp it.
“We have never experienced this level of decay in the economic management of this country. Other leaders were in one way or the other better than the current Government.
” Tinubu should resign if he is unable to fix the economy. The Nigeria economy was far better before he took over. Buhari handed over to him a better economy which he has now destroyed.
” But his allies and psychopaths don’t tell him the truth. Nigerians are suffering, there is no pretense.”
Archbishop Ariwodor warned against use of force to suppress the nationwide protest, insisting that Nigerians have right to peaceful protest.
“Nigerians are hungry and have the constitutional right to express their grievances through peaceful protest.
” The people are not violent, so, why will you apply force against peaceful protesters?
” Why will you flog people and ask them not to cry? You are flogging the nation and shouldn’t ask the people not to cry.
” Government should listen to public opinions. Pressure groups, provided they are not violent, make Governments to sit up. “
The Abia Elders Consultative Forum helmsman, also warned against any attempt to arrest the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, for speaking truth to power.
He said that Obi should not be persecuted for constructively criticising the Tinubu-led administration over its poor management of the economy.
Archbishop Ariwodor declared support for Obi and other Nigerians who had criticised the bad policies of Government, or declared support for peaceful protest.
” Abia elders solidly stand behind Obi. And if anybody attempts to arrest him, we will all march to Abuja, and they should get ready to slaughter all of us there. If anybody touches him for speaking the truth, the person should be ready to kill all of us.
” I spoke with Obasanjo and I agree with his advice to Tinubu that peaceful protesters should not be touched. This is democracy. I totally endorse the position of the former President in the statement he had issued.”
The cleric disagreed with those calling for the shelving of the nationwide protest, accusing them of deceiving the President for personal gains.
“We want to dissociate ourselves with the advice of Igbo leaders who found themselves in position of authority, and do not see the level of suffering of the Nigerian masses as a result of bad governance.
” Why will you want people to keep quiet and remain in the House when a cup of beans is N600 and two cups of garri N500?”
He, however, advised the protesters not to go violent but express their grievances within the ambit of the law.
The Nigerian Bar Association has announced that it is offering free legal support services for protesters whose fundamental human rights may be violated during the ongoing nationwide #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest.
The association’s President, Yakubu Maikyau, in a statement on Thursday, August 1, through the NBA National Publicity Secretary, Akorede Lawal, disclosed that directives have been sent out to all chairpersons of the 130 branches of the association to take up any case(s) of breach of fundamental human rights of persons involved in the protest.
However, he advised protesters to carry out their activities peacefully. He also urged law enforcement agents to be professional and respect the human rights of others in the discharge of their duty.
The statement read: "The President of the Nigerian Bar Association Mr. Yakubu Maikyau, has yesterday, July 31, 2024, directed all the Chairmen/Chairpersons of the 130 Branches of the NBA to ensure that their respective Human Rights Committees take up observed or reported cases of breach of fundamental right (s) of any citizen, harassment, intimidation or torture perpetrated by law enforcement agents, the protesters or other identified members of the public in the course of the protest.
"Chairmen/chairpersons of NBA nranches have also been directed to set up Situation Monitoring Committees to monitor and report activities and interactions between law enforcement agents and protesters. To this end, an online monitoring form has been provided, and it can be accessed from the link https://rb.gy/q5xqg7.
"Members of the SMC and other members of the NBA engaged in the monitoring exercise are encouraged to complete the form and submit same for NBA’s record and further action where necessary."
It added, "To ensure effective coordination of this endeavor, the NBA has established Legal Support Services Teams across the country headed by the first Vice President of the NBA, Mrs. Linda Rose Bala; the Chairman NBA-SPIDEL, Sir Steve Adehi, (SAN); and the Chairman, NBA Human Rights Institute; Mr. Chinonye Obiagwu, (SAN). The NBA President has also written to the Inspector General of Police to collaborate with the NBA in this regard.
"As the protest commences today, August 1, 2024, the NBA wishes to encourage citizens, including members of the NBA who are joining the protest to exercise their right peacefully and within the bounds of the law. The security agencies are also urged to be professional and observe human rights in their duty to enforce the law."
The hunger protest, geared towards bringing the government’s attention to the economic hardship currently being faced by its citizens, is scheduled to hold in all 36 states of the country and the FCT. It starts today, August 1, and will last till August 10.
Members of opposition parties in the House of Representatives yesterday staged a walkout over a bill seeking to raise the ways and means cash advances from five to 10 per cent.
The walk out came at plenary, after an amendment by the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, that the ways and means be reduced to two per cent was rejected.
Section (38) of the CBN Act (2007) provides that the advance by the apex bank, in the form of ways and means, must not exceed five per cent of the previous year’s revenue of the federal government.
Chinda moved the amendment during the consideration of the report on the bill at the committee of the whole, saying this would enhance transparency in federal government’s spending.
The report proposed raising the ways and means advances from the existing five to 15 per cent.
Chairman of the Committee on Finance, James Faleke, however, opposed Chinda’s amendment, urging the House not to go below the five per cent in the Act.
“For us to move on, we need to move up. For the issue of transparency and accountability, the Committee (on Banking and Currency) has the responsibility to oversight,” he said.
Contributing to the debate, Ibrahim Isiaka, a lawmaker from Ogun State, supported Faleke’s position, proposing that it should be raised from five to 10 per cent.
On his part, former deputy speaker of the House, Idris Wase, from Plateau State, moved a motion for an amendment that 10 per cent should be maintained.
Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker and presiding officer, appealed to members for understanding, in view of the recent increase in the minimum wage of workers, saying the government needed more money.
Hardship: NLC, CSOs unimpressed as Reps cut salaries by 50% for 6 months
“There is gap, and funding has to come from somewhere to bridge the gap in meeting government’s obligations,” he said.
Consequently, he called for a voice vote on Wase’s amendment motion, the “nays” were louder than the “ayes,” but he ruled in favour of the “ayes.”
This provoked the lawmakers who loudly expressed their dissent with a repeated “no”.
It was at this point the opposition lawmakers, led by Chinda, walked out of plenary.
Subsequently, the report was adopted and passed for third reading.
Ways and means is a loan facility through which the CBN finances federal government’s budget shortfalls.
The CBN law limits advances under ways and means to five per cent of the previous year’s revenue, but this has been observed in breach over the years.
On May 23, 2023, the Senate approved N22.7 trillion ways and means loan, thereby securitising the debt, following a request by former President Muhammadu Buhari on December 28, 2022, asking the lawmakers to do so.
In January 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari told the Senate it would cost the Federal Government about N1.8 trillion in interest if the National Assembly failed to approve the N22.7 trillion in extra-budgetary spending.
#EndBadGovernance: Don’t plunge Nigeria into anarchy - APC diaspora tells protest organisers
AFOLABI
The All Progressives Congress (APC), Spain chapter, has urged organisers of the proposed nationwide protest to be patient with President Bola Tinubu rather than plunge Nigeria into anarchy with the planned demonstration.
The organising secretary of the chapter, Julius Fayemi, in a statement on Wednesday, urged Nigerian youths to disregard anyone calling for protest in the country.
Mr Fayemi, however, said that no one was disputing the right to protest in any democratic society to remind the ruling party that “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
“Nigerians should be patient and dialogue; this is not the time to put the state into anarchy.
“If any analyst is telling the ‘Gen Z’ and the Millennium generations to protest peacefully without being hijacked by hoodlums, it is a lie from the pit of hell.
“If we review the list of protests in Nigeria in the era of colonial rule to date, can anyone point out and tell the world which protest ended peacefully?” he said.
He highlighted some protests that had left sour tastes in the mouth, including the Aba riot against taxation imposed by the colonial government in 1929 and the Egba women’s riot in the Palace of Oba Ladapo Ademola II in 1947.
He also listed the “Ali Must Go” riot against Segun Okeowo and Ahmadu Ali because of increments of 50 kobo school fees in 1978 and the protest against Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) organised by the National Union of Nigeria Students in 1989.
“We all witnessed the protest in Nigeria against the annulment of the election by the military regime in 1993 and that of the removal of fuel subsidy by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012.
“#EndSars 2020 is still in our memory. If any politician comes on any social media or platforms where youth should protest instead of dialogue, he or she is playing to the gallery.
“In all these protests, there was none that ended without claiming lives and properties.
“When the chips are down, the bourgeois and the privileged will leave the shore of Nigeria for safety.”
According to him, Nigeria must discourage and disregard the jingle of protest and join hands to move the country forward.
The APC chieftain said that Nigeria must cherish its unbroken 25 years of democracy, saying, “worst of civilian government is better than the best military.”
“Let’s allow this government to correct the mistakes of their predecessors. After all, hardship did not start today. Allow Mr President to focus and diagnose the problem, and a solution is around the corner.
“No government is perfect; one year may not be enough for the Tinubu administration to correct and change Nigeria. We are not ready to repeat the #EndSars protest,” he said.
Mr Fayemi, however, urged the government to talk to the youth and not talk at the youth, saying the problems facing the country were accumulated and not created by Mr Tinubu.
“Democracy is about dialogue. Nobody is saying protest is not part of democracy, but it should not be political.
“We know that the demands of the protesters are legitimate, but give the current government time to correct the anomalies.
“Give this regime time to ameliorate the suffering of the people because the agitation goes beyond the administration,” he said.
There have been so many controversies around some youth groups planning a nationwide protest from August 1 to 10 to demand the government’s solutions to rising costs of living and economic hardship.
(NAN)
The Nigeria Labour Congress, on Wednesday, threatened a showdown as the Governor of Gombe State, Muhammad Yahaya, declared that the state would not be able to pay the N70,000 new minimum wage.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage bill into law on Monday, making N70,000 payment mandatory.
But the Gombe governor, while speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on Tuesday at the state Government House in Gombe, said, “I cannot pay the N70,000 minimum wage, and I suspect many other states are in the same predicament.”
In an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, the NLC Secretary in Gombe State, Ibrahim Fika, said the declaration by the Gombe governor, who is also the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, was a recipe for renewed struggle by organised labour.
The NLC scribe said, “The governor has said his mind before us. We are anticipating the table of the national headquarters for the adjustment; from there we will start our own struggle because as we all know, the new minimum wage is now a law after passing through scrutiny in the legislature and getting the presidential assent.
“We don’t see the reason why a governor will say he can’t afford to pay N70,000. We are expecting governors to pay more than that, not less. We will do our possible best to see that Gombe enjoys the new minimum wage by God’s grace.”
THE Senate has asked Nigerians and promoters of the nationwide protests to halt their plans in the interest of the country.
According to the Senate, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has, within one year in office, initiated policies that would benefit Nigerians in the near future.
Speaking after an executive session that lasted close to two hours yesterday, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, said the Senate, having reviewed the situation, with regards to the nationwide protests slated today, is urging those warming up for the action to shelve their plan.
Akpabio had on Sunday summoned an emergency session of the upper legislative chambers, ahead of the nationwide protest.
Meanwhile, there was a heavy security presence in and around the National Assembly complex in Abuja yesterday, as lawmakers held an emergency plenary.
Contrary to the usual practice, the Sergeant-at-arms, barricaded the entrance to the National Assembly, with strict adherence to the provision of identification cards for entry at the Mopol gate.
Policemen in their numbers, hovered around the entrance of the National Assembly with their guns.
The heightened security, it was gathered, was allegedly intended to prevent protesters from gathering at the venue.
According to the President of the Senate, initiatives such as the signing of the national minimum wage bill into law, establishment of the North West and South East Development Commissions, granting of local government autonomy, among others, will reduce hunger and poverty in the country.
He said the various bills passed by the National Assembly would also help in resolving the economic challenges bedeviling the country.
Akpabio said: “The senate in a closed session, deliberated on issues bothering on the workings of the Senate in particular and the national assembly in general.
“The Senate particularly reviewed the current situation as regards the impending protest set to be slated for tomorrow August 1.
“This protest is slated for tomorrow, the 30th of August, 2024 and I kindly urge you that one year is not long enough for the policies being implemented by the current administration of President Asuwajibola Bola Tunibu to yield the desired results.
“The Senate urges the protesters to give the government more time to address their demands, considering the measures being put in place to ameliorate the situation in the country, such as the National Minimum Wage Act, the sale of crude oil to local refiners in naira, the implementation of Students Loan Act, the assent recently granted to the Southeast Development Commission and the Northwest Development Commission, bills passed by the National Assembly to further address developments at the grassroots.
“The Senate, and in fact the entire National Assembly, is willing to legislate on all matters that will bring succour to Nigerians in general.”
Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Cross River State, Alphonsus Eba on Wednesday said the party has secured police permit to march in all the 196 political wards of the state against the nationwide protest.
He made this known during an interaction with journalists at the APC Secretariat in Calabar.
Eba said he will lead the APC members to move about in designated routes in Calabar for 14 days.
According to him, other party officials and registered members will engage in similar marches in their different local government and wards as from August 1st.
“We are embarking on solidarity march in support of Mr President’s and our amiable state governor’s feats in office which altogether changed the backward strides and charted positive and progressive dividends for Nigerians.
“Those that may be misguided, the security agencies will handle and lead them to psychiatric and other confined homes,” he said.
The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, said the major concern of President Bola Ahmed ahead of the planned August 1, 2024, hardship protest is how to safeguard the gains of his government in the past 15 months.
Edun disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing in Abuja.
According to him, the president desires that protests be peaceful so that Nigeria’s economic recovery momentum will not be dislodged.
Edun noted that Tinubu understands the concerns of Nigerians and is working round the clock to proffer lasting solutions.
“He is concerned that the protests will remain peaceful and orderly, such that the gains that have been made over the past 12 to 15 months should not be dissipated. The momentum that has been achieved in the Nigerian economy should not be dislodged, disturbed or dissipated.
“I think, amongst many other well-meaning Nigerians, the President truly understands the concerns that are being expressed, particularly the high and limited cost of living, which is not beneficial to Nigeria at this stage,” he said.
The minister commented barely hours before the planned August 1 protest nationwide.
Justice Sylvanus Oriji of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has issued an ex-parte order, restricting Abuja protesters to the National Stadium otherwise known as the MKO Abiola stadium.
The order followed an application that was brought before the court by the Minister of the FCT, Mr. Nyesom Wike.
The scheduled nationwide protest against economic hardship in the country is slated to commence tomorrow..
In the ex-parte application that was moved by Chief Ogwu Onoja, SAN, the FCT Minister, prayed the court for an order of interim injunction restraining the five leaders of the protesting groups from gathering or parading themselves along any roadway, streets, offices and public premises within the FCT between August 1 to August 10, or any other day thereafter, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
He equally applied for order of interim injunction mandating security agencies to prevent the protesting leaders from gathering or parading themselves along any roadway, offices or public premises within the FCT between August 1 and 10, pending the determination of the suit.
Insisting that the Federal Government was not opposed to the planned protest, the FCT Minister told the court that intelligence and security reports reaching him indicated that some elements within the leadership of the protesters were planning to capitalize on the protest to cause havoc and irreparable damages to public facilities and to also block roadways to prevent movement of persons and vehicles and disturb public peace.
He claimed that when he contacted the security agencies to ensure that the planned protest will not degenerate into criminality and disturbance of public peace and order, he was told that they are not well equipped to manage any crisis that may arise from the planned protest at a short notice.
The Minister tendered an exhibit from the “Take it Back Movement, FCT,” signed by one Damilare Adenola, in which they threatened to invade the Presidential Villa and also threatened to pull down the outer wires facing the Aso Rock villa during the protest
The said exhibit further indicated that the organisers demanded that they should be provided with light as well as toilet during the duration of the protest.
After he had listened to the Applicant, Justice Oriji, while acknowledging the right of individuals to embark on the protest, however restricted them to the Stadium in view of the fears expressed by the minister.
“In the light of the above, the court considers it appropriate and expedient to grant an order under the omnibus or general prayer to ensure that the rights of the protesters are guaranteed and that the protest does not negatively or adversely affect the rights of other citizens to move about and to ensure that that properties and other public facilities are not destroyed,” the judge held.
He, therefore, ordered the 1st to 5th respondents to “use the Moshood Abiola Stadium” only for the protest.
More so, the court ordered the service of processes in the suit as well as the confinement order on the respondents by placing same on the newspapers.
Cited as 1st to 12th Defendants in the suit, are; Omoyele Sowore, Damilare Adenola, Adama Ukpabi, Tosin Harsogba, persons unknown, Inspector General IG of Police, Commissioner of Police, Director General of the State Security Service, Director General, Nigeria Civil Defense Corps, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air staff and the Chief of Naval Staff.
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Ahead of the planned nationwide protest scheduled to begin on August 1, the Organised Civil Society has issued guidelines to protesters to ensure the success of the protest against hunger and hardship in the country.
The guidelines, according to a statement signed by the Head, Coordinating Secretariat of the United Action Front of Civil Society, Olawale Okunniyi on Wednesday, followed a meeting with the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
The group urged protesters to be civil and orderly, and not allow anyone to provoke or distract them, from the agenda of the protest. They also urged protesters to record with their phones in the event of any external aggression and send such recordings to the Civil Society Situation Room on Protests Ethics Monitoring.
Okunniyi also implored protesters not to go to the venues of the protests with sharp objects or weapons as any such person will be handed over to security agents.
The statement read in part, “Citizens participating in the protest rallies and processions are advised to be civil, orderly and focused and not allow anybody or forces to provoke or distract them from the agenda and goal of the protest, which is to compel government to end Hunger and Hardships in the country
“Protesters should endeavour to come out with their small pack of bottle of water and snacks if possible and should be smartly dressed. Protesters are advised not to come to protest ground with sharp, hard and violent objects or weapons as anybody seen with such objects and weapons shall be apprehended and handed over to security agents or protest monitoring team for prosecution.
“For help and support during the nationwide protests, citizens are enjoined to contact protest monitors at the situation room of the organised Civil Society via WhatsApp of the following hotlines: +23481-884-51511, +234 814 286 4904,+234 703 504 6101, +234 803 582 3617. Please note that the above hotlines are for WhatsApp messages only”.
The group also urged the government and its agents to “demobilise and caution those being recruited to threaten and intimidate peaceful Protesters to desist to avoid unnecessary clash and battle in the interest of peace and stability of Nigeria.”
He added that any such sponsored mobilisation against the protesters will “may lead to another unwanted riot in the mode of #EndSars debacle in Nigeria.”
#EndBadGovernance: First lady urges Nigerians to be patient with her husband’s administration
AFOLABI
The first lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has urged Nigerians, particularly youths, to be patient with the present administration as it works earnestly to ensure that things get better.
The first lady gave the advice in the State House on Wednesday during an interview with journalists on the planned nationwide hunger protest by some youths.
“I appeal to the youths to be patient, we did not come to the state house to play, we are here to work because I know we will leave this place one day.
“The government has been working day and night to make sure that our country is put back on its feet.
“The respect we have now as Nigerians in the international community is higher than what we had in the past.
“People now want to do business with Nigerians legitimately and that will create jobs. Therefore, our youths should try and engage themselves, be creative and do more,” she said
The first lady said Lagos state was yet to recover from the impact of #EndSars protest, and it saddened the hearts.
“When people beat drums for protest, they may not know the backlash and what will happen after.
“That is why we are appealing to the youths to restrain from the planned protest, give peace a chance and embrace dialogue,” she said
(NAN)
#EndBadGovernance: Protest is democratic right, I’m ready to join protesters - Kano Governor
AFOLABI
Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano has thrown his weight behind the #EndBadGovernance protest over the heightened cost of living crisis under President Bola Tinubu’s watch, adding that he is ready to join the protests because it is the democratic right of citizens.
Mr Yusuf backed the nationwide protest during a stakeholders’ meeting in Kano Government House on Wednesday.
“For us, protest is a democratic right of every citizen. I want the protesters to carry out their procession with caution, as some criminal elements plan to hijack the protest,” Mr Yusuf said.
He added, “If you embark on a peaceful procession, I will receive you, and if you wish, I’ll join you. “
Mr Yusuf’s statement comes on the eve of nationwide protests over economic hardships exacerbated by soaring food prices under Mr Tinubu’s government.
Though Mr Tinubu’s government has begged that the protest be shelved, Nigerians have vowed to hit the streets across the country to vent their displeasure over the prevailing cost of living crisis.
The Lagos State Police Command, on Wednesday, confirmed that three domestic staff have been arrested in connection with the murder of the daughter of Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, who made the revelation to journalists, said that the arrest of the three suspects was initiated in line with a directive from the State’s Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade, to investigate the death thoroughly.
SP Hundeyin further disclosed that the arrested three domestic staff members have been handed over to the State Criminal Investigation Department, which has since taken over the investigation.
The deceased, Aribemchukwu, was reportedly killed in her Parkview Estate residence in the highbrow Ikoyi area of the state on Wednesday morning.
A family source who craved anonymity because of the current state of the family, said she was killed on Tuesday night, and her body was discovered Wednesday morning outside the gate of her residence.
“It would appear that new household staff might have been responsible and tried to stage as if she was outside when it happened.
“There are signs of an attempt to clean up blood inside the house and in the compound. This was indeed the handiwork, and we observed that they were newly employed less than a month, and she was alone in the house with them.
“Newly employed domestic staff, who had been with the family for less than a month, are suspected to have staged the scene to make it appear that Aribemchukwu was outside the house when the incident occurred. Evidence suggests an attempt to clean up blood inside the house and within the compound, pointing to a different narrative,” the source narrated.
Aribemchukwu’s father, Soboma Ajumogobia, is the younger brother of Odein Ajumogobia, SAN, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and later one-time Minister of Foreign Affairs.
[Leadership]