Dialogue With Organisers To Avert Looming Protest, Reps Urge FG

The minority caucus of the House of Representatives, on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to dialogue with leaders of the August nationwide protest in order to avert it.

Members further urged the FG to listen to the demands that have been raised by Nigerians and tackle them, in a statement issued by the media team of the caucus Chairman, Kingsley Chinda after its special meeting/dinner in Abuja.

While calling on those behind the planned protest to shelve the idea, the caucus said the worrisome security situation in the country will worsen if the protesters go ahead with their planned August demonstration.

“We appeal to the government to dialogue with the planned protesters and also look at some of the messages they are raising, the critical areas that need government intervention.

“The government should intervene and ensure that issues are resolved amicably,” the caucus said in the statement.

The statement further said, “We are not going to encourage any protesters because in the past, we observed in most cases that even peaceful protests have been overtaken by hoodlums, and with the insecurity situation in some parts of the country, you may not have the control of the gathering of people. So some unscrupulous people may use the opportunity to create chaos,” he said.

The statement said, “We acknowledge and observe the insecurity situation in the country and we call on the government to use carrot and stick by ensuring that the result is seen. Let all the security chiefs do what is right to ensure that Nigerians are protected,” he added.

The caucus also called on the government to create means to ensure citizens are self-reliant in a bid to tackle the economic challenges in the country.

“We also acknowledged in our discussion that there is hunger in the land and we appeal to the government not only to be giving palliatives but to create ways and means whereby people can be self-reliant,” he said.

He said the dinner was organised to thank members of the caucus for their support.

“Basically the main purpose of our gathering was just to have an end-of-year dinner. We felt it is important to organise a dinner and thank all our members for giving us the necessary support,” he added.