Hardship: Tinubu not against nationwide protest – Nigerian govt

• He stated that government of President Tinubu affirms the rights of every Nigerian to engage in protests.

The Nigerian government has said President Bola Tinubu is not averse to the use of protests and peaceful public demonstration as tools for expression of discontent and grievances against constituted authority.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this known when he received members of the Charismatic Bishop Conference on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja on Wednesday,

He stated that government of President Tinubu affirms the rights of every Nigerian to engage in protests.

He added that it is equally committed to ensuring that these activities do not degenerate into a full blown melee that breaches public peace or violate the rights of others.

Idris asserted that the government is aware that some people would want to hijack the planned protest and unleash violence on innocent Nigerians.

He said: “You see, the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu believes in the freedom of everyone within the confines of the law to do what he thinks is right for him. Therefore, the President is not an opponent of protest of any kind but the President is an opponent of violence and anything that will negatively hamper the wellbeing of Nigerians. He believes and he has always been saying that within the tenets of democracy, you have every right to do whatever you want to do provided that right does not infringe on another person’s right.

“Why everybody is very cautious and very weary of this national protest is because we have seen what has happened around the world. We know that it’s almost impossible to hold this protest and then have peace at the end of the day. We cannot do that because some people are waiting to take the laws into their own hands,” he said.

Idris said Tinubu was not oblivious to the genuine concerns and complaints expressed by Nigerians across the nation and he is working assidously to implement effective policies aimed at ameliorating the challenges faced by the citizenry and bringing relief to all Nigerians.