Monday, July 15, 2024 The North Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has issued a strong warning against planned nationwide protests allegedly aimed at President Bola Tinubu's administration.
During a press briefing in Jos,
Plateau State, the forum’s Chairman, Saleh Mandung Zazzaga, argued that such
protests could hinder national progress and urged organizers to reconsider
their plans.
Zazzaga suggested that the motives
behind the protests seem to stem from selfish interests rather than genuine
concerns for national development. He emphasized that President Tinubu's
administration is making significant efforts to steer the country towards
growth and stability, and these protests could serve as unnecessary
distractions.
Zazzaga also appealed to potential
protesters to consider the existing security challenges in the North Central
region and other parts of the North, which are already under strain. He
stressed that any form of unrest could worsen the situation, detracting from
the government’s efforts to address these issues.
The APC leader called for unity and
support for the government’s initiatives, advocating for constructive dialogue
as a more effective approach than disruptive protests. He warned that staging
protests in the already volatile North Central region could pose additional
risks to security.
He said;
“Therefore, any protest in the region
can be highjacked by hoodlums to cause mayhem and threaten the lives and
properties of law-abiding citizens.
“The issue of kidnappings, banditry and
other criminal activities the region has been going through over the years is
already overwhelming on the region, and it cannot afford to have another
restiveness added to it.
“Besides, protests in parts of the region and the North often take an
ethno-religious dimension, which also culminated in killings of one another
between Christians and Muslims.
“An example of such a protest which often turns violent and takes an
ethno-religious crisis, is that of the #EndSARS protest across the country,
which took such dimension in Jos, the Plateau State capital, and we have to do
a lot to tame it.
“I, alongside other eminent persons in Jos,
went around calming the people down to stop the violence, and we ensured that
Christians were protected in Muslim areas, and vice versa, and thereafter
handed those protected from harm over to the police to unite them with their
families safely.
“So, I call on all our members across the
region to mobilise vigorously and campaign against any form of protest in the
region, and I also urge the governors, religious leaders, traditional rulers
and other eminent personalities and opinion leaders in the North Central region
to call all their wards to order and advise them against participating in any
form of protest due to the peculiar situation of our region.”
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