By Chesa Chesa
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, has announced that the celebration to mark Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day anniversary this October 1st, will be low-key “for obvious reasons”, apparently in view of hardship citizens are facing over petrol subsidy removal.
Speaking to State House correspondents after he met behind closed doors with the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, the SGF said: “Independence Day is a very historic event for any country and we in Nigeria are no exception. We are fully prepared for this year’s celebration but for obvious reasons, it is going to be low-keyed.
“This year’s celebration is going to be low-keyed, there will be no room for a fantastic jamboree at the Eagle Square and other locations.”
Akume admonished Nigerians to use the independence anniversary as a means of reflecting deeply on the unity of the country and the journey ahead, even as he assured them of better days ahead under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu.
According to him: “It is a time for reflection for us as a people and the journey forward for the nation, which is being led appropriately by the captain of the ship, President Bola Tinubu. We are wishing Nigerians the best of luck and we want to assure them that better days are coming and pretty soon too”.
On the strike planned by organized labour to protest the hardship Nigerians are facing, Akume said he was optimistic that issues concerning this would be addressed amicably, as he called on organised labour to be patient as government finds a solution to their demands.
“The Labour leaders are very patriotic Nigerians and we want to believe correctly that nobody would want to have a strike at this time of our history because it is not in the interest of the workers and it is not in the interest of anybody.
“This government is very determined to raise the standard of living of the Nigerian workers and to create prosperity for all and that is not something that can be done overnight. So it will be inappropriate to begin to judge the government on the basis of the few months that it has spent in office,” Akume stated.
