The Presidency and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi have traded words over a planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest.
The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, has been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August.
The federal government, through the National Orientation Agency (NOA), and the Nigeria Police Force as well as the House of Representatives during the week warned against the planned demonstration.
Also on Saturday presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga accused the Labour Party and Obi of being the masterminds of the protest aimed at drawing the attention of President Bola Tinubu to the current economic situation in the country.
“Don’t be fooled: the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi, the failed presidential candidate of the Labour Party. And he should be held responsible for whatever crisis emanates from the action,” Onanuga alleged in an X post on Saturday.
He warned that the protest could turn out like the ENDSARS demonstration by youths against police brutality which turned destructive after it was hijacked by unscrupulous elements in 2020.
The presidential aide insisted that the economy has been improving, and inflation slowing. “There is no country in the world where people are not going through some economic challenges and where the cost of living is not a major issue,” he added.
Onanuga urged security agents to “interrogate these agents of destabilisation”.
However, in a statement on Saturday, a spokesman for the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, denied Onanuga’s claim. Ifoh said that “there is no truth in that and the tweet is just the author’s figment of his imagination”.
“Labour Party is known for being a very peaceful party and it has on several occasions asked its followers to follow peace at all times. We are not known as a lawless group as was evident in the aftermath of the last general election.
“It is therefore delusional for anyone to link our supporters to the planned protest. Labour Party, Peter Obi and our supporters are not planning any protests.”
The LP spokesman said peaceful protests all over the world are initiated and executed by the people and not by the opposition.
“It is therefore puerile for the government or anyone for that matter to begin to look for who to blame for the bad governance that is being witnessed in Nigeria today.
“Nigeria can still get it right if the right policies are initiated. We also advise that some aides of the presidency must be cautioned to avoid incendiary pronouncements capable of combusting the nation, all in the name of playing politics,” Ifoh said.
The full text of Ifoh’s statement is published below…
Obi not involved
The attention of the leadership of the Labour Party has been drawn to a tweet purportedly from one of the presidential aides, Mr Bayo Onanuga, linking the Labour Party, its national leader Peter Obi, and very many notable figures in our party to the proposed ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest. We say that there is no truth in that, and the tweet is just the author’s figment of his imagination.
Labour Party is known for being a very peaceful party, and it has at several occasions, asked its followers to follow peace at all times. We are not known as a lawless group, as was evident in the aftermath of the last general election. It is, therefore, delusional for anyone to link our supporters to the planned protest. Labour Party, Peter Obi and our supporters are not planning any protests.
However, peaceful protests all over the world are initiated and executed by the people and not by the opposition. No opposition has any control over protests. Popular protests such as in Kenya, Egypt and several other places were a direct registration of the people’s frustration against the government. The people have the right to protest and it is within their constitutional right.
It is, therefore, puerile for the government or anyone for that matter, to begin to look for who to blame for the bad governance that is being witnessed in Nigeria today.
Nigeria can still get it right if the right policies are initiated. We also advise that some aides of the presidency must be cautioned to avoid incendiary pronouncements capable of combusting the nation, all in the name of playing politics.
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