- He stated that the people behind the protest are not known, the protest will therefore become an opportunity to loot cause destruction and unrest.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has acknowledged the right of Nigerians to protest but said they do not have the right to plunge the nation into political instability and social upheaval.
This is as he accused politicians who lost out during the last general elections of being sponsors of the protest to take over the government through undemocratic means.
Akpabio spoke during the signing of the new Minimum Wage by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Monday.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on those who are attempting to foment trouble; that you have a right to protest. It is your fundamental right. It is there in the constitution.”
He stated that the people behind the protest are not known, the protest will therefore become an opportunity to loot cause destruction and unrest.
“But you don’t have a right to destabilize the country. The right to protest should not be turned into the right to unleash violence. It’s very clear that people who are behind this are very amorphous, very faceless. So what it means is people are preparing to loot and go round and do all sorts of things. Where we are today was not caused by one year’s administration.
“It is the outcome of years of insecurity. Many people could not go to farms for almost 10 years and know that and the President has risen to the occasion. Every food item that is coming in now will come in without anything like a restaurant solution. There’s no restrictions, because Nigerians need to eat. And then at the same time, most things are coming in with a lot of waivers.
“So my appeal to the Nigerian youth is do not allow any group to mislead you politically. People who probably do not have their fortunes in 2023 election are thinking they can come through the back door and that will amount to anarchy. Any destruction of any property will cause Nigeria money. We don’t have the money. Instead, let’s put the money in developing you and developing your environ instead of going to rebuild.”