The Federal Government has appealed to Nigerians for more time to address the hardship bedevilling the country, saying it is not sleeping on duty.
The call is coming in the wake of the growing hardship in the country and calls for a nationwide protest against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The government described the planned protests as a “family matter”, stressing that all issues will be resolved in a way to ensure the peace and stability of the country.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, made this disclosure on Wednesday in Abuja after a meeting held by members of the Federal Executive Council at the instance of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation OSGF, Senator George Akume.
In a brief interview after the closed-door meeting, Idris said, “We came together to discuss. You can see that this is not happening at the Council Chambers, it is happening at the office of the SGF and many of the ministers are here. We have discussed issues of national interest and all of us are working for Nigeria, and we hope and believe that Nigeria is going to be great again.
“No one is going to sleep. Those who are agitating and asking for protests are Nigerians, they are our brothers, they are our sisters, they are all Nigerians and those in positions of authority, the ministers, the President, everybody, we are all Nigerians too. So, this is a family matter. This is a Nigerian family issue and all of us are looking at this issue very well and we hope that peace will prevail at the end of the day”.
When asked if the government has been engaging with the stakeholders and organizers of the planned protest, Idris said engagement has always been an ongoing thing.
“This is not a peculiar situation. Engagement has been ongoing. The President has met severally with all key stakeholders. I have also been meeting with stakeholders, other government functionaries have also been meeting with other key stakeholders.
“Engagement is going to continue and in the interest of Nigeria, we will continue to engage. We know this is the only country that all of us have and at the end of the day, Nigeria is going to be better for all of us for it”, he stated.
On the alleged insistence by some top Nigerians, including a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, Femi Falana that the protests must go on, Idris said the senior lawyer was entitled to his opinion in a democracy.
Some of the Ministers who were at the meeting included Nyesom Wike (FCT), Yusuf Tuggar (Foreign Affairs), Zephaniah Jisalo (Special Duties), Tahir Mamman (Education), and Abubakar Bagudu (Budget and Planning).
Others are Wale Edun (Finance), Mohammed Idris (Information), Bello Matawalle (Defence), David Umahi (Works), and the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, among others.
Planned Protest: Give us more time – Nigerian govt begs
