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Tag: HUNGER PROTESTS

  • Your policies not yielding desired results– Bauchi gov tells Tinubu

    Your policies not yielding desired results– Bauchi gov tells Tinubu

    The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has criticised the policies of the Federal Government, which have led to increased hardship in the country.

    Speaking at the launch of the Nigeria Development Update report by the World Bank in Abuja on Thursday, he said that the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration were not yielding the desired results.

    Mohammed also said that the revenues available to state governments are not enough to address the challenges in states.

    He said, “We should go back to the basics. Nigerians are not enjoying the regime at this time across board, not only the federal government, including the state and local governments.

    Therefore, the onus rests on you, the finance and the managers of the economy.

    “We need to come up with a budget programme with economic policies that will reduce hardship. The money that we are sharing is not enough.

    The report spoke about employment, wages, and how many per cent of Nigerians are even employed. Most of our people live in the informal sector; we should look at how we can make them self-employed.

    “The purchasing power has dwindled, these policies are not working and you know that.”

    While introducing the new report, Alex Sienaert, lead economist of the World Bank in Nigeria, said that to achieve the desired growth in the nation’s economy, the recently introduced macroeconomic stabilisation reforms should be backed up by creating productive jobs.

    Also, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Dr. Ndiame Diop, said that while the reforms may be challenging, they are crucial for the nation’s long-term stability.

    He added that opposing or reversing these reforms would be detrimental to the development of the country.

  • Political malpractices and governance malfeasance

    By
    UGO ONUOHA
    “But Nigeria’s president moves around as an Emperor of a rich Gulf state with a N5 billion yacht, a N2 billion custom-made, armour-plated and bomb-resistant American Escalade Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)- fit only for a monarch or for the leaders of the first world superpower countries such as the United States, Russia and China.”
    LAST week the presidency said in a statement that Nigeria’s president, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would be travelling to the People’s Republic of China in the first week of September. Unless something has changed in our comprehension of the English language, the first week of September will ordinarily mean between Sunday, September 1 to Saturday, September 7.
    For a fractured presidency this understanding does not apply. Now let’s quote aspects of that statement issued by his media adviser, Chief Ajuri Ngalela.
    “His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will depart for the People’s Republic of China, most specifically, Beijing, from nation’s capital (Abuja) within the first week of September, to engage in a series of meetings and activities with immediate and future benefit to the Nigerian economy and the Nigerian people”. However, 48 hours before the start of the first week of September, the president hopped into his jet, in the ‘nation’s capital’, and left the country.
    So, as you read this, Tinubu is reportedly already in China meeting with his counterpart, President Xi Jinping, or visiting big corporations in that Asian country, or interacting with the chief executive officers of companies that boast trillions of dollars in assets. Unlike my wife, I have not been to China, but stories abound that China is, in some respects like New Zealand – a world away. But the import in the conflict in the presidency’s statement and the early departure without further clarification is that the disdain of Tinubu for Nigerians extends to those who directly work for him. It could also be that he chose to leave early so as to savour his new but old (pre-used) super luxurious N250 billion widebody A330 Airbus presidential jet.
    READ ALSO: https://www.mondopoli.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Misery-                          Index-Worsens-Poverty-in-Nigeria-final.pdf
    I concede that it will not be uncharitable for any reader to read mischief into the monetary value I have, on my own, assigned to the ‘new’ presidential bird. For a start there was no proper and conventional appropriation and provisioning for the Airbus jet acquisition in the 2024 national budget. It was just bought so that our president will not die in an aircraft crash given that the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) in the presidential fleet, 19 years old, had become unserviceable and prone to annoying downtimes which embarrass the president and the country in foreign lands. The $150 million USD purchase price for the Airbus was a product of conjecture by the media. It is the same for the $50 million allocated to retrofit and upscale the jet to fit the status of a feudal president. Depending on who you ask, we have between eight to 10 aircraft and choppers in the presidential fleet of a poor country led by a poor president who soaks garri and eats groundnuts for lunch according to Vice President Kashim Shettima. This diet inside a presidential jet will be a spectacle worth beholding.
    As usual the president and the regime he heads do not deem it fit and proper to account to Nigerians on how they came about the aircraft; where it was sourced from; when; and, for how much? All Nigerians were told, and grudgingly so, by a low-level presidential staff on the social media, was that the aircraft was snapped up during an auction, and paid for through a now veritable slush fund called service wide vote. The service wide vote can be likened to the notorious security vote, a channel through which heads in the executive arms of government use to steal money from the public till. The notoriety of the abuse of this budgetary provision was unearthed in a research paper published in 2019.
    The research work conducted by Messrs William Smart Ekong, Sunday Effiong, Charles Effiong, and, John Ogenyi Oboh under the title ‘Use of Service -Wide Vote (Contingency Budget) for National Development: Evidence from Federal Ministries, Departments And Agencies in Nigeria’ revealed that government ministries and agencies, and even the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) abused the service wide vote “to the tune of over N4.17 trillion between 2004 and 2018 due to non-compliance with rules governing the use of the vote”. The researchers, after observing that the abuse had stunted and blunted national developmental objectives of the vote, proceeded to make recommendations to help police the vote including allocation of 5% of the annual budget to service -wide-vote, regular replenishment of releases from the vote, obtaining approval from the National Assembly before releasing funds from the vote, roll over of unspent funds, prosecution of corrupt MDA officials, and avoiding those sharp practices that “will make the use of the service-wide-vote ineffective in achieving national developmental objectives”.
    “But Nigeria’s president moves around as an Emperor of a rich Gulf state with a N5 billion yacht, a N2 billion custom-made, armour-plated and bomb-resistant American Escalade Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)- fit only for a monarch or for the leaders of the first world superpower countries such as the United States, Russia and China.”
    Two things confront us in the findings and recommendations of these researchers, two of whom were said to be of the University of Calabar in Cross River state. First, there’s no evidence yet that the five year – old study which was published in the Research Journal of Finance and Accounting 10(10): 45-62 found favour with Nigeria’s rulers. Secondly, the scholars may not have envisaged that this country will be burdened with a national assembly that is completely beholden to the executive arm of government. But it does not really matter because it is not beyond Tinubu and his cheerleaders to argue that the acquisition of a N250 billion jet in an opaque manner was one of the reasons for the creation of the service-wide-vote. This is what you get when a ruler is brazenly contemptuous of the people.
    Meanwhile, Nigeria’s population is currently put at anywhere between 200-250 million. Since nobody knows the country’s population for sure, we are bound to rely on projections, conjectures and guess-estimates. About two years ago, Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) found that not less than 133 million people were dimensionally poor – food poor, health poor, education poor, housing/shelter poor, potable water poor, sanitation poor, etc. Since May last year, many more Nigerians have dropped into the category of the dimensionally poor in the wake of the no brainer economic policy options of the extant regime, with the figure unofficially put at over 150 million citizens.
    “He described Tinubu as “arrogant, ignorant, and incompetent” for prioritising flamboyant lifestyle and luxury travel amid ongoing economic struggles in Nigeria, where according to him, inflation rates were reportedly as high as 114%.”
    Nigeria has consecutively remained the global capital of poverty since 2019 when it inherited the dubious tag from India. By the way, India is about six times the population of Nigeria. But Nigeria’s president moves around as an Emperor of a rich Gulf state with a N5 billion yacht, a N2 billion custom-made, armour-plated and bomb-resistant American Escalade Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV)- fit only for a monarch or for the leaders of the first world superpower countries such as the United States, Russia and China. The stark and painful difference is that these other leaders drive vehicles made in their countries. But Tinubu luxuriates in an Escalade made by Cadillac, the luxury division of General Motors, a jet manufactured in France, and a yacht of unknown origin.
    Except for the yacht, none of the luxury acquisitions of the president has the regime found the need to tell Nigerians how much they cost the taxpayer. And this is because Tinubu has an abiding disdain for Nigerians. And other government officials have copied him. Why bother when there are no consequences for being contemptuous of Nigerians. At the weekend, one American economist reportedly said Tinubu was an insufferable and ignorant person. But I wager that Tinubu knows what he is doing. Steve Hanke is a professor at Johns Hopkins University. He described Tinubu as “arrogant, ignorant, and incompetent” for prioritising flamboyant lifestyle and luxury travel amid ongoing economic struggles in Nigeria, where according to him, inflation rates were reportedly as high as 114%. This is about three times the figure given by the NBS. He appeared to suggest that the NBS inflation rate was a product of fiction. The message is that the world is taking note of the choices of the ruler of an underdeveloped and debt-ridden third world country.
    Tinubu’s supporters who are to be pitied are wont to point us to other countries where people, according to them, are going through struggles and a cost of living crisis. They also point to some luxuries enjoyed by such leaders. But not once would they acknowledge that no two situations are the same. They won’t tell us that global poverty has since taken permanent residency in our country. Let’s illustrate with one example what a sensitive leader who finds himself leading an economically challenged country will do.
    Keir Starmer is the new UK prime minister. Last week he told Britons and others that his first budget due next month “is going to be painful”. He said that he had no other options but assured that only those with the broadest shoulders will “bear the heavier burden. Starmer said his choices were limited because his administration inherited a £22 billion black hole as well as a”societal black hole”. But before Starmer warned about the sacrifices he would call on the people to make, he first started with himself and the privileges of his own office as prime minister. He announced that a £40m VIP helicopter contract used extensively by his predecessor Rishi Sunak for local travels will not be renewed when it expires by the end of this year. He said it will be in keeping with his promise when he sought the vote of the people to undo “14 years of rot” and profligacy under the Conservatives. Starmer is of the Labour Party.
    PLEASE READ: https://nairametrics.com/2024/08/30/tinubus-1-trillion-gdp-                                 target-will-not-be-possible-in-5-years-bismarck-rewane/
    Sunak had used the government – funded helicopters on several occasions while he held sway, even when it was obvious train travel would have been almost as quick and convenient, and certainly cheaper for some of the expensive trips with the chopper. Starmer’s action could be derided as cheap populism but no leader, except in Nigeria, has a right to ask for understanding and sacrifices from the people while he immersed himself in sickening luxury. Signaling, that’s what Starmer has demonstrated. And to think that the UK belongs to the first world. But here, Tinubu whose country may not even qualify to be designated as a third world country lives in a fortress renovated with billions of Naira before he moved in last year, glides in a N5 billion yacht, rides inside billions of Naira worth of a foreign made SUV, and junkets around the world in a foreign manufactured presidential jet on the excuse of wooing foreign investors.
    There’s no doubt that world leaders look at him with scorn, knowing that every of the luxury items he uses were shamelessly acquired with foreign loans. And some of these lending institutions are domiciled in the countries of those leaders where he goes to show off. Tinubu is like that arrogant king in the Igbo nation who struts about in the market square to impress people but did not realise that his royal gown was smeared with feaces. Who will tell Tinubu this truth? But will he listen?
    *Incipient tyranny and unfolding imperial presidency will, other things being equal, form the concluding part of this trilogy next week.
  • #EndBadGovernance: 10 Protesters charged with attempt to overthrow President Tinubu, remand in prison

    #EndBadGovernance: 10 Protesters charged with attempt to overthrow President Tinubu, remand in prison

    Nigeria Police, Monday, arraigned ten #endbadgovernance# protesters before a Federal High Court in Abuja, on charges of attempt to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu between July 1 and August 4 this year.

     

    The accused persons were said to have committed the treason offence during their one week nationwide protests when they allegedly levied war against Nigeria.

     

    The offences were said to be contrary to sections 96, 410 and 413 of the Penal Code.

     

    Inspector General of Police (IGP) who brought the charges against them alleged that the accused persons broke into the Abacha Army Barracks and openly called on the military to take over the constitutional government of President Tinubu.

     

    According to the police, they attempted to force their way into the seat of power during which they allegedly burned down police station and injured police officers.

     

    They were also said to have incited the Nigerian public against the government and destroyed several public properties comprising Police station, High Court complex and National Communication Commission (NCC) facilities.

     

    Police also claimed that a 70- year old British citizen, Andrew Martin Wynne now at large was largely responsible for instigating mutiny against the Nigerian government.

     

    The alleged offences were said to have been committed in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and Gombe among others.

     

    However, all the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges when read to them.

     

    The accused persons are Michael Tobiloba Adaramoye, Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Suleiman Yakubu, Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo Simon, Angel Love Innocent, Buhari Lawal, Mosiu Sadiq, Bashir Bello Nurudeen Khamis and Abduldalam Zubair.

     

    Sequel to not their guilty plea, Counsel for the IGP, Simon Lough, SAN, asked the court to remand the accused persons in prison pending their trial.

     

    Responding, counsel to four defendants, Marshall Abubakar, however, moved an oral applications for bail of the accused persons.

     

    He cited authorities to justify his oral application for his bail adding that the Federal High Court in the treasonable charges against a politician, MKO Abiola allowed oral application and admitted him to bail.

     

    He continued that his clients were presumed innocent in law until proved otherwise by the IGP adding also that bail is Constitutional rights of the defendants.

     

    He submitted that the defendants had been held in custody for close to a month by police who he said, have completed investigation into the allegations against his clients before bringing them to court.

     

    Concluding, he assured the Judge that the defendants would not jump bail if granted and that they will also not tamper with witnesses in the matter.

     

    Another lawyer, Deji Adeyanju who appeared for three of the defendants faulted the treason charges against the defendants insisting that they only participated in a lawful and legitimate protests against hardships facing them.

     

    Adeyanju argued that police ought to have entered the locations of bandits, kidnappers and terrorists, arrest and charge them with treason offence instead of innocent protesters.

     

    He drew the attention of the court to the proof of evidence attached to the charges adding that no evidence pointed to the direction of treason, mutiny and incitement as alleged by police.

     

    Insisting that bail is discretionary, Adeyanju pleaded with the Judge to exercise his discretion in favor of the defendants by admitting them to bail in liberal terms.

     

    However, counsel to Police, Simon Lough SAN vehemently objected to the bail requests on the ground of gravity of alleged offences the accused persons were charged with.

     

    He specifically cited mutiny aimed at changing democratic government by force through incitement and involvement of a British national against the Nigerian nation.

     

    In a brief reaction, Justice Nwite ordered that the defendants be remanded at Kuje prison in Abuja and Suleja prison in Niger State and

    adjourned ruling in their bail applications till September 11

     

    The Judge ordered that the nine males defendants are to remain in Kuje prison while the only female defendant said to be pregnant, Angel Love Innocent was ordered to be taken to Suleja prison.

     

    Justice Nwite said that he needed time to consult the retinue of authorities cited by lawyers to back up bail applications.

     

    Although lawyers to the accused persons led by Marshall Abubakar had requested

     

    Also Justice Emeka Nwite rejected the request for police custody for four defendants made by Abubakar.

     

    He instead ordered that they be taken to prisons.

  • Hunger Protest: Hoodlums invade Offices in P/Harcourt

    Hoodlums, involved in the widespread hijacking of the #EndBadGovernance protest, attacked the headquarters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Rivers State on Tuesday, destroying a giant Billboard and the entrance gate.

    There have been demonstrations across various states since last Thursday, with protesters expressing dissatisfaction over the nation’s economic challenges.
    The hoodlums were said to have invaded the party’s secretariat located along Port Harcourt/Aba road, pulled down the giant billboard, and vandalized the entrance gate and canopies providing shelter to security operatives.
    In an interview with journalists in Port Harcourt, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of APC in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, condemned the incident, stating that the destruction was sponsored by people afraid of the party’s rising profile in the state.
    He alleged that the attack was premeditated to get at President Bola Tinubu and make Rivers State the epicenter of protest.
    Okocha said they are not scared to name the sponsors and called on the Rivers State Police Command to beef up security around and within the party’s secretariat.
    He said, “Today, the issue on point is the vandalization of the APC Secretariat situated at Port Harcourt/Aba Express Road in Port Harcourt by hoodlums who were sponsored by a source we have identified. We are not scared to name the source because the situation has become very political. Of course why is it that it’s only APC that was isolated for destruction?
    “But the million of those attacks will not stop us in APC from speaking for the people of Rivers State. It will not stop us from being diametrically opposed to a government that is clueless. It can’t stop us. When the Rivers State House of Assembly was pulled down, it did not stop the Assembly from sitting.
    “I am aware and we were briefed that there are plans to make Rivers State the epicenter of protest for obvious reasons. One reason is that they need to get to Mr. President that Mr President does not seem to be supporting them.”

  • Tinubu’s Broadcast: ECOWAS Breaks Silence on Hunger Protests

    The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has broken its silence on the ongoing protests in Nigeria.
    In a statement released on Tuesday, the ECOWAS Commission urged protesters to heed the call for dialogue and peaceful resolution of their grievances.
    The body expressed deep concern over the violence, fatalities, and property destruction that have marred the demonstrations
    The commission extended condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the protests and expressed sympathy with the Nigerian government and its people over the losses incurred.
    The statement said, “The ECOWAS Commission has been closely monitoring the ongoing protests by citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and deeply regrets reports of violence in the course of the protests and the unfortunate death of some protesters as well as alleged looting and destruction of public and private properties.
    “The commission extends heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and sympathizes with the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria over the losses.
    “The ECOWAS Commission recognises the right of citizens to peaceful protests, as guaranteed by the 2001 ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.”
    ECOWAS also welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s recent State of the Nation address on Sunday, in which he called for inclusive dialogue to address the grievances of protesters.
    “The Commission welcomes the State of the Nation address of August 4, 2024 by President Bola Tinubu and urges the protesters and all stakeholders to heed the President’s call for inclusive dialogue for the resolution of all grievances and the preservation of peace and security in Nigeria and the ECOWAS region at large,” it added.
    The hunger protests in Nigeria, which began as a peaceful demonstration against the rising cost of living and food insecurity, took a violent turn last week, resulting in numerous deaths and the burning of properties.

  • #EndBadGovernance: Please Protect Our Lives And Properties – APC Begs Security Operatives

    APC Begs Security Operatives As Protesters Target Matawalle’s Residence

    The Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the attempt by some protesters to attack the residence of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, in Gusau, Zamfara State.
    The party shared its concerns on Thursday via a statement by its Zamfara Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Idris.
    Idris said the party was disturbed by the nationwide supposed peaceful protests in the state.
    He claimed that many thugs were deployed to attack the personalities and properties of the APC members.
    Idris subsequently urged the security operatives to protect their lives and properties.
    “We observed that many thugs were strategically deployed to attack and destroy personalities and properties of the APC members.
    “It is very unfortunate that on the first day of the protests, the protesters attempted to attack the former Governor BelloMatawalle’s personal residence,” he claimed.
    Idris recalled that Matawalle’s residence was burgled in 2023 by some thugs, adding that security operatives should not allow such an ugly act to recur.
    “Luckily, the quick intervention of the security personnel who blocked the protesters from destroying the minister’s house saved the situation
    “We commend the security agencies in the state for being proactive.
    “Those political thugs, most likely implementing the directives of their leaders, would have razed down the minister’s house and property,” he explained.
    Idris claimed that the thugs also attacked the residence of Senator Sahabi Yau at his hometown of Kaura Namoda, where they destroyed many valuables and damaged his Toyota Hilux van in the name of peaceful protests.
    “We have earlier forecast the possible hijacking of the protests by the hoodlums and other miscreants in the state, which they actualised.
    “We wish to implore security agencies in the state to give our members and all well-meaning citizens the desired protection of lives and property.
    “We are calling on youths not to allow themselves to be used by bad politicians, especially as the nationwide protest is supposed to be peaceful and address concerns in the country.
    “The protest, which is a constitutional right of Nigerians, should be peaceful and without any threat to life and property,” the APC scribe added.
  • Hunger Protest: D-DAY in Nigeria?

    Hunger Protest: D-DAY in Nigeria?

    A blogger called it the “Ides of March in August.” Some called it the “Day of Rage.” Others have aptly described it as the “day to take back Nigeria.” Call it what you may but today is August 1, 2024 and what shall not be in doubt is that President Bola Ahmad Tinubu shall today play host to some not-too-August visitors, as Nigerians from all works of life pour onto the streets, if all go as planned, to demand better treatment from the leadership of their country.

    Operated under the hashtag: #END BAD GOVERNANCE, a group of Nigerians issued a notice to the Federal Government some weeks back with the intention to embark on ten days of mass protest, starting August 1-10, 2024, to demand reversal of economic polices that the current government had introduced. Some of these policies include the withdrawal of subsidy on petrol, hike in energy (electric power) tariff, further liberalization of the foreign exchange market.

    It is worth repeating here that these policies were dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, so called Bretton Woods Institutions, created in December 1945 to mastermind the implementation of the Bretton Woods Agreement of July 1944. Over the years, the two institutions have served “as important pillars for international capital financing and trade activities.” Unfortunately, their advises and the prescriptions contained in the Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) that they recommend, have always failed to serve the interest of needy Third World Countries.

    From countries of the Latin Americas to poor countries in Africa and the Asia, the one-size-fits-all policies that these two lending institutions propose to third world countries often lead to mass revolts, often because of the hardship that they cause. As for Nigeria, it is a deja vu as the current episode is Nigeria’s second attempt at implementing SAP. The first also ended in a fiasco as the country was thrown into a turmoil of mass revolt that is today remembered as the anti-SAP Riots.

    Same as now, the Anti-SAP Riots were a result of the government decision to implement the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in 1986 under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in an effort to counteract the impact of declining oil revenue and devaluing the Naira, cutting back on social spending, implementing widespread layoffs, being measures taken to guarantee Nigeria’s eligibility for loans from the IMF.

    Public resentment to IMF Structural Adjustment Programmes are fueled by several factors. Apart from the very bitter pills that they prescribe, the failure of the ruling elite to subordinate themselves to the same lifestyle modification that they recommend to the mass of the people, spike most of the anger that drive the protests. In Nigeria, just as the ongoing episode in Kenya, while the people grapple with cost of living crisis, politicians and their families, supposed servants of the people, revel in obscene affluence.

    In Nigeria, the numbers tell all the story. Down by 370.55 percent, the local currency was so massively devalued that a US dollar today exchanges for 1,660 naira, instead of N448.0 by end of 2022. With this fall in the value of the naira, and Nigeria being import dependent, the price of all goods skyrocketed. Just to give an example, rice, Nigeria’s most staple food has become a luxury item in many family menus as a 50kg bag, hitherto sold at N7,500 in 2023 now sells between N85,000 and N100,000. Food inflation estimated at 40 percent. While interest rate hovers around 28-30 percent.

    President Tinubu, either wittingly or otherwise, it was, who set the tone and pace for the current harsh economic reality buffeting Nigerians when he announced that subsidy on petrol was gone while reading his inaugural speech. Even the most strident advocates of subsidy removal sharply disagreed with the method of withdrawing the very critical subsidy on petrol by the president. This was due to how he announced it without proper review and implementation plan.

    The rest, as they say, is now history. The country now tithers precariously by the edge of the cliff. Whether the people will troupe out to carry out the threat of a mass protest shall become manifest momentarily. What is of critical essence going forward is how the law enforcement agents contain the protest that the Federal Government and the sub-nationals can not be excused as having done enough to stave off.

  • We’ll Be Eating While You Are Out There, Akpabio Mocks Protesters

    We’ll Be Eating While You Are Out There, Akpabio Mocks Protesters

    Reputed for series of unguarded utterances, the Senate President Godswill Akpabio has taunted those calling for demonstration over the economic hardship in the country.
    According to him, those interested in the protest can go ahead “but let us be there eating”.
    Akpabio spoke at an event organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Tuesday in Rivers state.
    His comment is coming on the heels of a planned nationwide protest by some Nigerians to demand economic and political reforms.
    Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, met with some of the organisers on Tuesday in Abuja, appealing to them for virtual protest but they insisted on going to the streets.
    However, during the NDDC event, Akpabio said he was not interested in any “regime change”.
    “All of us feel the impact of what is happening now. But we are aware it will be for a short while. MD, I want to thank you for what you said. You said we are not interested in regime change, let us own this government.
    “Those who want to protest can protest, but let us be there eating — I must thank the Niger Delta”, he added.
    He said “we acknowledge the fact that the impact of oil and gas activities in our region has done immeasurable damage to our people.”
    The national assembly, he assured, is ready to help with legislation to curb oil spillage and environmental pollution in the region.
    “The specific issues faced by the Niger Delta must be contained in that communique because we are going to make it available to Mr President,” he said.
    “The ones that need legislation will come to us, the ones that need intervention will go to NDDC, the ones that need more money will go to the president and commander-in-chief and I assure that those issues will be addressed”, he submitted.
    The National Assembly under Akpabio’s leadership has fixed an emergency session for the eve of the protest.