President Bola Tinubu has questioned the purpose of the August 1 protest, stating that he is already taking care of the majority of the issues facing the country, particularly those pertaining to youths.

Speaking on behalf of the President, Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, verified that the proposed protest was discussed during the Federal Executive Council meeting.

Idris claims that the federal government’s most recent student loan program was designed with the youth in mind, guaranteeing that no Nigerian child who is accepted will be forced to quit out due to tuition.

Protest: You must fulfil all conditions – Wike warns planners

His words: “The position of FEC is that most of the demands that the protesters are making are actually being addressed by the federal government and therefore it is the view of the government that there is really no need for the protests again because most of those things that the protesters are putting forward have already actually been addressed or are being addressed by government.

“Like we have said repeatedly, this is a listening government. The President has listened to the voices of all those who are planning this protest and the message is that there is no need for it.”

The Information Minister further noted: “The last council meeting here at the briefing, we announced that a number of trucks, 20 precisely, had been given to the state governors for onward distribution to those who actually are in need of them, the poorest of the poor in society and those who are actually in need, but government did not stop there.

“There is also rice that is being sold at about 50 per cent of its cost, a bag of rice is being sold as we speak now. This rice has been taken to various centres across all the states of the federation and is being sold at N40,000. Centres have been created, so that those who need this rice can go there and buy this rice at N40,000.

“In the first instance, about 10 trucks have been made available to each of these states and indeed, this is just to begin, I know that some of the comments you hear are that ‘it is never enough’.

“Government has not pretended that these supplies are indeed enough. But these are the necessary first steps that are being taken, and more such interventions are being made in the interim. Of course, this is, like I said, an interim measure because there is so much investment going into the agricultural sector.”

Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it. 
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.