By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
Members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday appealed to Nigerians to shelve planned nationwide protest over hardship in the country.
They made the appeal after a closed-door meeting hosted by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume in his Abuja office.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said that the federal government was not sleeping on duty and begged for more time from Nigerians.
“We came together to discuss. You can see that this is not happening at the Council Chambers, it’s happening at the office of the SGF and many of the ministers are here. We have discussed issues of national interest and all of us are working for Nigeria and we hope and believe that Nigeria is going to be great again.
“The planned protests is a family matter. All issues will be resolved in a way to ensure the peace and stability of the country. No one is going to sleep. Those who are agitating and asking for protests are Nigerians, they are our brothers, they are our sisters, they are all Nigerians and those in positions of authority; the ministers, the President, everybody, we are all Nigerians too.
“So, this is a family matter. This is a Nigerian family issue and all of us are looking at this issue very well and we hope that peace will prevail at the end of the day,” Idris said.
Asked whether the government has been engaging with the stakeholders and organizers of the planned protest, the minister said engagement has always been an ongoing thing.
He said, “This is not a peculiar situation. Engagement has been ongoing. The President has met severally with all key stakeholders. I have also been meeting with stakeholders, other government functionaries have also been meeting with other key stakeholders.”
Asked to comment on reported insistence by some top Nigerians including constitutional lawyer and human right activist Femi Falana, SAN, that the protests must go on as it is a right of the citizens, Idris said the senior lawyer was entitled to his opinion in a democracy.
“He (Falana) is an individual. This is a democracy, everyone is entitled to his opinion. The protesters are also Nigerians, this is a democratic situation. What I keep saying is that we are all Nigerians and we are all acting in the interest of Nigeria, but suffice to say that yesterday, Mr President said there is no need for any protest, let us calm down.
“A lot is happening, Nigeria is going to move and march on and we believe that whatever government comes out with will be in the interest of Nigeria. We don’t think that there is need for any protest, we are appealing for calm; we are appealing for a peaceful resolution or peaceful approach to any issue.
“If you have anything that you want to put out there, you are free to put it out there, but government is insisting that we are all Nigerians, we have to be calm, we have to be patient and suffice it to say that let us give peace a chance. Mr President is working round the clock, his ministers are working, everyone is working, all hands are on deck.
“Like I said yesterday, everyone is listening; we are all listening, the President is listening and he has a message for all Nigerians, that message is that they should all calm down, they should please give the man more time. Everything they asked for, all their pleas will be answered,” Idris said.
The meeting was attended by Nyesom Wike (FCT), Yusuf Tuggar (Foreign Affairs), Zephaniah Jisalo (Special Duties), Tahir Mamman (Education), and Abubakar Bagudu (Budget and Planning).
Others were Wale Edun (Finance), Bello Matawalle (Defence), David Umahi (Works), and the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, among others.
