HUNGER: REPS MINORITY CAUCUS ASKS FG TO HOLD TALK WITH PLANNED PROTESTERS

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The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has requested the Federal Government hold negotiations with the protesters ahead of the nationwide demonstration intended to address hardship, poverty, and the high cost of living.

The “End Bad Governance” demonstration has garnered popularity on social media and is planned to take place in August in all of the Federation’s states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The protest’s organizers have remained nameless.

The lawmakers want President Bola Tinubu’s administration to attend to the protesters’ issues because they are concerned about the impact on the economy.

At the session’s last meal in Abuja, the Caucus adopted a resolution that included this.

Briefing journalists after the dinner on Tuesday in Abuja, the Chairman of the Caucus, Hon Kingsley Chinda, however, discouraged the planned protest, especially against the background of insecurity in parts of the country.

“We also appealed 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. Government should intervene and ensure that issues are resolved amicably,” he said.

“We are not going to encourage any protesters because in the past we have 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 control of the gathering of people. So some unscrupulous people may use the opportunity to create chaos.

“So we are discouraging any protest but we appeal to the government to dialogue and also look at critical areas that are necessary and address them amicably.”

Chinda also advised the government to adopt the carrot-and-stick method in addressing the problem of insecurity in the country.

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

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