Category: News

BREAKING: Security Agencies Uncover Top Politician Sponsoring Protests

Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike said security agencies in the territory have identified a senator as one of those sponsoring the anti-government protest.

Wike disclosed this shortly after an emergency FCT Security Council meeting Thursday in Abuja.

Details later…

You Were Nowhere To Be Found – PDP Mocks Wike Over Protests

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kogi State, Austin Okai, has mocked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike over the EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest.

Okai said Wike was nowhere to be found as protesters, whom he refered to as Gen Z, stormed Asokoro area of the FCT.

He noted that the protesters moved gallantly despite being tear-gased by security agents.

Posting on X, the 2023 PDP candidate for the Federal House of Representative election for Dekina/Bassa in Kogi State, accused the Police of causing chaos.

He wrote: “Gen Z stormed Asokoro Wike no where to be found. Moving gallantly inside the TEARGAS as aggrieved citizens.

“This is evident that Police caused the anarchy, chaos and violence #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria.”

Protesters had barricaded the Jikweyi-Kurudu- Karshi axis of the FCT by burning tyres on the road on Wednesday.

Some uniformed personnel stationed at the district Police station along Kurudu, directly opposite the Post Service Housing Estate, were seen on red alert with their tear gas canisters handy.

Akpabio Under Fire Over Comment On Hunger Protest

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has come under heavy criticism for taunting those calling for protest over the economic hardship in the country.

Nigerians, many of them young people, have called for demonstrations from August 1 over soaring costs.

Living costs spiked in Nigeria after President Bola Tinubu ended the fuel subsidy and eased foreign exchange controls after coming to power in May last year.

Inflation hit record levels at 34.19 per cent in June, with food inflation more than 40.87 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Speaking at an event organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Rivers state on Tuesday, Akpabio said those interested in the protest can go ahead “but let us be there eating”, adding that he was not interested in any “regime change”.

He said: “All of us feel the impact of what is happening now. But we are aware it will be for a short while. MD, I want to thank you for what you said. You said we are not interested in regime change, let us own this government.

“Those who want to protest can protest, but let us be here eating…”

This had infuriated some social media users who criticised Nigeria’s number three citizen.

Reacting to the comments made by the Senate, some Nigerians took to social media to berate him.

See some of the reactions below:

On X, formerly Twiiter, @DrMusabayero: “These are the consequences of voting for the wrong people. People who are NOT fit to be our leaders. Leaders who are irresponsible, loquacious, reckless, insensitive, dubious, rascals, and kleptomaniacs.”

@Realoilshikh: “Dear @Senator_Akpabio, Your statement was reckless & a mockery to hungry Nigerians, that bad policies or poorly implemented ones have plunged into poverty & hunger. Nigerians demand an apology from you.”

@Mr_NIV: “Instead of mocking, we urge you to focus on addressing the genuine concerns of the people.”

@Zayyan_A: “This is the most arrogant and insensitive senate president we’ve ever had. He’s also the most incompetent. Another reason why we have problems is because a lot of people like him are in various leadership positions.”

@SahabiSaad: “I am appalled by Senate President Apakbio’s heartless comment, which mocked protesters by saying ‘We will be eating while you are out there.’ This thoughtless remark demonstrates a staggering lack of empathy for the hardships and pain of the Nigerian people.”

@kafeel_maje1: “can we protest demanding Akpabio resignation? Yes we can! the man is always proven to be worst Senate President ever in history of Nigerian Senate.”

On Facebook, Abubakar Sadiq Adamu said: “I have said it, I am saying it again and again and again, this is the worst senate president we have ever had in the history of this country. He lacks social skills in general, he didn’t deserve to be a leader. Shame on his people that he is representing.”

nimfon Ben: “The leaders have been eating and the people starving. Not protesting won’t make them share in your meal.”

Olanrewaju Okoh: “Bukola saraki will remain the most productive, experience, clever Senate president ever.”

Isaiah Jeremiah: “This is what happens when Sets of cruel people rules a nation. May God have mercy on Nigeria Politicians.”

Al’ameen Muhammad Aderm: “And the saddest part of it, his constituents will still give him mandate in the next 2027 general election. Nothing is found in akpabio as a quality of a good leader, the worst Senate president ever in history.”

Amos Augustine: “Leaders are expected to speak tenderly but this current senate president always vomits unthinkable words.”

Pro-APC Campaigner Cries Out For Help, Says Tinubu Government Hired Us For Rally To Say ‘No To Protests,’ Abandoned Us With No Water, Food Or Money

A group of women reportedly hired by President Bola Tinubu’s government for a counter-protest against the planned #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest have complained that they were abandoned after being used by the government.

It was had reported that over 400 Nigerian women were hired by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders to hold a rally against the planned nationwide protest.

It was gathered that some influential women leaders in the APC sent a circular to several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Abuja, asking them to mobilise 50 women each to Eagle Square, Abuja to be given 50kg bag of rice each as palliative.

However, after over 400 women were mobilised from various NGOs to Abuja, rather than get bags of rice as promised them, they were given banners saying, “Say No To Protest”.

They said their pictures were taken to make it look like they were not for the planned nationwide protest against hardship. Thereafter, they were left with neither rice nor transport fare as promised.

The circular sent to the NGOs on Friday and forwarded to SaharaReporters by a member of African Youth Union Commission, Esther Adelana, read, “URGENT: Good day distinguished young active citizens, please if you are in Abuja and can make your way to Eagle Square tomorrow Saturday 9am for palliative distribution by one of our partner accompanied with transport logistics. We need fifty young women.”

In multiple viral videos, some women confirmed SaharaReporters’ findings, saying that the APC and Tinubu’s government deceived them and left them stranded in Abuja after they were being used.

One of them said, “We were deceived into coming to Abuja for an empowerment rally only to be given placards for ‘Say No To Protest’. They didn’t give us water to drink, no food, no money.  They left us stranded.”

“We were called by Tinubu that we would be empowered to oppose the planned protest. We came and we were abandoned in Abuja,” she added.

Fayose Blasts Northerners For Causing Problems For Tinubu, Marrying Many Wives, Giving Birth Recklessly

Former Ekiti governor, Ayodele Fayose and ally of President Bola Tinubu, says that northerners marrying multiple wives and having many children indiscriminately constitute a huge problem for Nigeria and a burden on the government.

Mr Fayose said this during an interview on Channels TV on Monday night.

Asked what he thinks the government could do to alleviate the sufferings of millions of Nigerians under Mr Tinubu’s watch as citizens prepare to protest, Mr Fayose highlighted the marrying of multiple wives and indiscriminate childbearing as issues compounding the country’s population crisis.

Recounting how he came to know about indiscriminate marriage and childbearing in Northern Nigeria, Mr Fayose said, “Let me say this. I went to one state in the North. I don’t want to mention the name of the state. I was there for three days. During my stay, I became familiar with people around the government house where I stayed.

“I sat outside and started speaking with one or two people. I asked the gateman how long he had been in government work. He said he had spent 26 years. I asked how much his salary was. He said it was small, N34,000. I asked how many children he had. He said 16. I asked how many wives he had. He said four.”

He added, “My brother, the problem is inside… For God’s sake, if somebody is earning N34,000, what can the government do with 17 children? We don’t want to be unrealistic.

The former Ekiti governor continued, “Another person said he has eight children and three wives, with one of his wives still expecting.

“A lot has to be done with our people too. Because when you have children and you go into government, a government that is struggling to survive, it is difficult when you are asking me what I would say to them. What do I say to a man who has 17 children and four wives?” he said.

Mr Fayose’s comments come in the wake of public outrage over prevailing economic hardships characterised by a high cost of living crisis under Mr Tinubu’s watch.

He argued that one year was too quick for Mr Tinubu’s government to fix a hunger crisis that predated his presidency, adding that former President Muhammadu Buhari served eight years without protests over hunger in the country.

“This hunger started a long time ago. That was why there was a rally at one point demanding ‘Jonathan must go.’ Jonathan left, but that hunger did not stop. Buhari came. I spoke to power. Buhari spent eight years, and nobody said anything. I don’t remember any rallies,” Mr Fayose said.

“Nigeria is a very difficult country to govern. We all know that. If a man is to spend four years, give him a mid-term.”

Akpabio Exposes Those Sponsoring Nationwide Protest

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has accused the candidates who lost out in the 2023 presidential election of sponsoring the planned nationwide protest.

Mr Akpabio spoke on Monday at the State House, Abuja, after he witnessed President Bola Tinubu’s signing of the new minimum wage bill into law.

Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Omoyele Sowore of African Action Congress (AAC) and others ran against President Tinubu in the election.

Some individuals and organisations in the country have planned a nationwide protest over the hardship occasioned by the economic policies of the Tinubu administration. The protest will be held ⁸ 1 and 10 August.

The senate president, however, said those who lost the election thought they could use the protest to claim the mandate through the back door.

“People who probably do not have their fortunes in the 2023 election are thinking they can come through the back door, and that will amount to anarchy,” Mr Akpabio said.

He cautioned the intended protesters to ignore damaging properties.

“Any destruction of any property will cost Nigeria money. We don’t have the money. Instead, let’s put the money into developing you and developing your environs instead of going to rebuild”.

Protesters planning to loot people’s properties
Mr Akpabio also raised the alarm that some people are planning to use the protest to loot properties and commit other atrocities.

“So I want to use this opportunity to call on those who are attempting to foment trouble; that you have a right to protest. It is your fundamental right. It is there in the constitution.

But you don’t have a right to destabilise the country. The right to protest should not be turned into the right to unleash violence.

“It’s very clear that people who are behind this are very amorphous, very faceless. So what it means is that people are preparing to loot and go round and do all sorts of things,” he added.

The senate president noted that the hardship in the country was not caused by the economic decisions of President Tinubu but by the consequences of the policies of the past governments.

“Where we are today was not caused by one year’s administration. It is the outcome of years of insecurity. Many people could not go to farms for almost 10 years, and know that, and the President has risen to the occasion.

“Every food item that is coming in now will come in without anything like a restaurant solution. There are no restrictions; bring in food because Nigerians need to eat. And then at the same time, most things are coming in with a lot of waivers.

“So for me, I’m excited that, yes, indeed, the government is doing what it should. And we, the leaders in the National Assembly, are touching our various constituencies. So my appeal to the Nigerian youth is, do not allow any group to mislead you politically,” Mr Akpabio said.

Last week, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, said the foreign mercenaries were involved in the planning of the protest.