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Focus on governance, not protest, Youth Party tells Tinubu

Barely a few hours after the proposed nationwide protest against economic hardship, the Youth Party has asked the Federal Government to focus more on governance and work at alleviating the suffering of Nigerians.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ayodele Adio, the party accused the federal government of creating panic and a crisis of confidence, adding that the federal government is more obsessed with protests than governance and is encouraging counter-protests.

While the Party acknowledged that the Tinubu-led government is still young in office and needs more time for the effects of its policies to show, it insists that the government must be humane and stop increasing the cost of governance.

The Party stated that it was rather unfortunate that at a time when the country was making headlines over the economic crisis, occasioned by hyperinflation, a falling currency, and widespread poverty, the FG was contemplating securing new presidential jets.

“We believe the right to peaceful assembly and protests is guaranteed by the constitution, just as we are averse to violence and disruption to businesses. Nigerians have suffered enough and should not be prevented from going about their normal lives by protesters,” the statement added.

“It’s just a few hours until the planned protest against economic hardship in Nigeria. This was fuelled by high inflation and current policies by President Tinubu’s administration.

“While some citizens are of the opinion that the protest should hold, others oppose the choice of demonstration to express their displeasure with the government.

“We totally agree that the policies are not well implemented, and it has caused a lot of uproar in society. For a very long time, we have been battling hyperinflation, an incessant increase in the price of food commodities, unstable exchange rates, insecurity, and a continuous increase in the price of fuel, among others.

“The presidency should have immediately started to address the issues of the unbearable economic situation necessitating the planned mass action slated for August 1 to 10.

“Unfortunately, instead of cutting down costs, the FG has expanded the number of ministries as against its earlier claim of implementing the Orasanye report.

“We hereby call the government responsible. The government is enjoined to meet the demands before the protest starts, and why should the government even wait for the protest to happen before addressing the issues?” he added.

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