Abuja, July 24, 2024 -The minority caucus in the House of Representatives has advised the federal government to dialogue with organisers of the planned nationwide protest scheduled for between Aug.1 and Aug. 10, 2024.
The caucus said the federal government should enter into meaningful dialogue with the protesters to avert the protest.
Hon Kingsley Chinda, the leader of the minority caucus, who spoke with journalists at the end of their dinner on Tuesday, urged the planners of the protest to stop the protest in view of the insecurity in some parts of the country.
He also urged the federal government to adopt the carrot-and-stick approach in addressing the problem of insecurity in the country.
Chinda said: “We appealed to the government to dialogue with the planned protesters and look at some of the messages they are raising, the critical areas that need government intervention. The government should intervene and ensure that issues are resolved amicably.
“We are not going to encourage any protesters because in the past, we observed in most cases that even peaceful protests have been overtaken by hoodlums, and with the insecurity situation in some parts of the country, you may not have control of the gathering of people. So some unscrupulous people may use the opportunity to create chaos.
“So, we are discouraging any protest. But we appeal to the government to dialogue and also look at critical areas that are necessary and address them amicably.
“We acknowledge and observe the insecurity situation in the country, and we call on the government to use carrot and stick by ensuring that the result is seen. Let all the security chiefs do what is right to ensure that Nigerians are protected.” (GBN)
