The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris has said that President Bola Tinubu is not against protest but is against violence. He said the government acknowledges the rights of every Nigerian to engage in protests. He made this known on Wednesday when he received the Charismatic Bishop Conference on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.
He said, “You see, the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu believes in the freedom of everyone within the confine of the law to do what he thinks is right for him. Therefore, the President is not an opponent of protest of any kind but the President is an opponent of violence and anything that will negatively hamper the wellbeing of Nigerians. He believes and he has always been saying that within the tenets of democracy, you have every right to do whatever you want to do provided that right does not infringe on another person’s right.
“Why everybody is very cautious and very weary of this national protest is because we have seen what has happened around the world. We know that it’s almost impossible to hold this protest and then have peace at the end of the day. We cannot do that because some people are waiting to take the laws into their own hands.”
He further stated that the President is committed to alleviating the challenges faced by Nigerians.
In his comments, the President General of the Charismatic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Leonard Kawas, dissociated the conference from the planned nationwide protest, adding that they had already been approached by some groups to join the protest.
He said, “Your Excellency, recently we received some calls from some other religious organizations and other organizations asking us to join in preparation for a nationwide protest, which would start from 1st August 2024. We are here to let you know that we do not think the same. That we have rather decided to go all out and call for a truce. We have decided to sue for peace and humbly request that our brothers and sisters who are aggrieved in one way or the other, that they should give us some time while we continue to communicate and negotiate with this government on areas that are pertinent to them.”
