Protest: You must fulfil all conditions – Wike warns planners

Barrister Ezenwo Nezam Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, engaged in interactive town hall meetings with locals on Saturday in an effort to foster calm in the area ahead of the nationwide protests that are scheduled to take place this next weekend.

Speaking to the residents at the gathering, the Minister explained that instead of people taking to the streets to protest against the government, this forum was set up to give them a way to voice their complaints and engage in conversation with different stakeholders.

According to the Minister, protests won’t address any issues; instead, they’ll give thugs a chance to take advantage of the circumstance and start trouble.

He urged citizens against supporting individuals he referred to as faceless protestors and warned that the FCT Administration will not permit any protest that is intended to destroy or undermine the government.

While acknowledging that FCT residents have the constitutional right to protest, the Minister issued a warning that these actions must stay within the bounds of the law.

He said, “Protests do not solve any problem. Protests rather create more problems because hooligans, hoodlums would always want to take advantage to foment problems and create crises”.

The Minister responded to the alleged formal requests for authorisation to demonstrate at Eagle Square in the Federal Capital Territory by claiming he was only made aware of the request via social media and television.

He stated that his office must receive any requests for protests in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and that approval of the petitions is contingent upon the satisfaction of specific requirements.

He said, “Who are these people who want to protest? I’m just reading on social media that they’ve applied to me to grant the Eagle Square. Do you apply to me through social media? You will write a letter to the Minister. Who are you? I will see you. What do you want to do? How many days do you want to spend? How much will you pay?

“When people want to do propaganda in everything; I watched them on Channels news telling the IG they have applied. You don’t apply to me through Channels. You must apply properly. You must pay what they call security cost so that if there is any damage with the facilities, we take that security cost and repair.

“We don’t just give people just because you have applied. You will fulfill the condition”.

The Minister stated that maintaining peace in the Federal Capital Territory was vital for the progress of any community and that every effort would be made to ensure its preservation.

Therefore, he expressed gratitude to all of the FCT’s stakeholders—traditional rulers, religious authorities, representatives of youth organisations, civil society organisations, and women leaders—for their support of the administration of the FCT, their commitment to fostering peace there, and their assurance of ongoing communication with the local populace.

In response to the calls for women and young people to be involved in FCT governance, the Minister said that these groups have been sufficiently represented in his cabinet by appointment as Mandate Secretaries and other important roles, and he promised that they would not be left behind in subsequent appointments.

He said, “If you check in our cabinet, it’s made of youths too. The coordinator of the Satellite Towns is a Youth. The Mandate Secretary of Area Council is a Youth. The General Council is a Youth. So, if you have an eight-member cabinet, and you have three as youths, then you cannot say the youths have not been carried along”.

The Minister added that four of the ten employees designated as Permanent Secretaries are women as a result of the FCT Civil Service Commission’s founding and the Service’s ensuing reforms.

The Minister promised to convey the proposal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu regarding the establishment of a Youth Secretariat in the FCT Administration, noting that the Secretariat will be established upon the President’s consent.

The Minister stated that the President would be notified of the selection of a non-indigenous person to represent the FCT in the Public Complaints Commission. The Minister also mentioned that the Federal Capital Territory now has a minister in the Federal cabinet for the first time.

He said, “As a president, I don’t think that he knows everything. These are appointments, thousands of people submit names; some people can be mischievous; he won’t know until the attention is brought to him. That is the way it is done.

“So, I thank God you did not go to protest on the road. This is what we are talking about in the dialogue. When you dialogue, people will take correction.

“When you discuss, people will say oh this is the mistake we have made. Let us correct the mistake and that is Mr. President for you. He has never told you that he will not make a mistake. He is human. He would make mistakes. That’s why he’s a human being.

“But what is important is that when you call his attention that this is a mistake made, he has that penchant for correcting such mistakes. So, please let nobody bother to go and carry placards or whatever to go on the street. It’s something that will be sorted out”.

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