FEC Reviews Demands of Protesters

The Federal Executive Council, FEC, has reviewed the demands of the personalities behind the planned nationwide protest and concluded that most of them have been addressed, with the few remaining ones being given adequate attention.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Muhammad Idris, stated this in Abuja, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting.
He said on basis, the planners of the protest had lost their rights to protest.
“The position of the FEC is that there is really no need for the protests, because most of those things that the protesters are putting forward have already actually been addressed or are being addressed by government and like we have said repeatedly, this is a listening government.
“The President has listened to be voices of all those who are planning this protest. And the message is that there is no need for it.
Indeed, the President is already protesting on their behalf by doing those things that they want a government to do for example, the effort that government is making in ensuring that food is being made available”, he emphasised.
He made reference to the distribution of 20 trucks of rice, as well as other consumables sent to State Governments for onward distribution to the needy.
“But government did not stop there, there is also rice that is being sold at about 50% of its cost, as we speak now. This rice has been taken to various centres across all the states of the federation, and is being sold at 40,000 Naira. Centres have been created for that purpose”, Alhaji Muhammad Idris disclosed.
The. Minister acknowledged that the palliatives would not be enough, but that they were necessary first steps being made, saying that more of such interventions are being made to make up.
He explained that appreciable funds had been pumped into the agriculture sector to ensure lasting food security, hoping that prices of food would come down at harvest.
He said those were part of the measures taken, which the President and the Federal Executive Council believed would diffuse the urge for the protest.
“Therefore, while you are thinking of protesting, government is appealing to you to first shelve it because it has the great likelihood that this protest may be hijacked and may turn violent by unscrupulous elements, and Nigeria will not be good for it. Of course, we know that people are saying that there is no intention for violence in this, but our history has shown that there’s the possibility that this protest can be hijacked and could turn violent”, the Minister warned.
Abdullah Bello