A human rights activist, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stop becoming jittery over peaceful protest slated to commence by 1st day of August,2024, against the current economic hardship facing the people of the country as a result of removal of fuel subsidy, saying that peaceful protest was part of ingredients of democracy.
The human rights activist also urged President Tinubu to allow peaceful protest from Nigeria masses that devoid of political colouration and enjoined the Inspector General of Police, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun to ensure the adequate protection for the protesters through out the period of peaceful protest and by not allowing hoodlums to hijack the peaceful protest.
Advising the Police boss to warn his officers not to do anything that would inimical to make the peaceful protest bloody with their actions and inactions.
Comrade Sulaiman,who is Executive Chairman,Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice( CHRSJ),disclosed that Nigerians have been made to face untold hardship since removal of fuel subsidy without planning to cushion the effect, maintaining that the issue of palliative was an afterthought which did not make any reasonable effect on the life of the commoners.
He futher said that the State Governors in Nigeria that were beneficiary of the removal of fuel subsidy with homologous monthly allocations were not helping President Tinubu in cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal,urging the Nigeria masses to face their Governors in their various State of the federation by asking them what they have done with the homologous allocation released to them in the last one year of the fuel subsidy removal.
In reaction to the appeal made by the President Tinubu to the organizers of the nationwide protest,Sulaiman in a statement, disclosed that Tinubu should be manly enough not to become jittery of the peaceful protest against the current economy hardship as a true democrat who has been regarded as the father of protesters in Nigeria.
Sulaiman, who is also a Convener, Save Lagos Group( SLG),explained that protest was an inalienable fundamental rights of every citizen in a democratic society like Nigeria, adding that Sections 40 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria,as amended,gave the people of the country right to assemble themselves peacefully to demand for good welfare when the people in government failed to fulfil their constitutional oath of responsibilities.
According to him, ” Since emergency of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President of the country,volume of the hardship on the lives of the people have been increased geometrically, which makes life unbearable for the Nigeria masses.
“The only solution to the current economic problem is to reduce the price of petroleum by making the Dangote Refinery commence operation without any hindrance and also makes our Refineries work. Every Nigeria knows that the Chairman of the Dangote Group of Companies,Alhaji Aliko Dangote is the part of the problems facing the economy of the country by monopolizing the production of goods and service in the land that hindered our economic growth as s country.
“But God wanted to use him to reduce the pains and pangs of Nigeria masses in the area pump price reduction. The practical economy theory of the country presently, is that whenever the price of the petroleum rise up,the more life become unbearable for the masses of the country because price of petroleum affects every strata of our lives”.
Sulaiman thanked those people who deemed it fit to organize the August 1st nationwide protest to demand for bearable and abundant life for the masses from the Tinubu led Federal Government and State Governors.
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