As the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest set for August approaches, President Bola Tinubu convened an emergency closed-door meeting on Thursday with top traditional rulers, security officials, and APC governors at the State House in Abuja.
The APC governors, led by Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, joined the high-level meeting.
Notable first-class traditional rulers in attendance included the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III, among other leaders from across the country.
Key security and government officials, including National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, ministers, and other cabinet members, also attended the meeting. A delegation of Islamic scholars (Ulamas) later joined the discussions.
President Tinubu, who took office in May 2023, has urged discontented youths to cancel the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest. To address citizens’ grievances, the President proposed a bill to raise the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000, which the National Assembly swiftly passed on Tuesday and now awaits the President’s assent.
On Thursday, military authorities warned that certain elements might hijack the protest to incite anarchy, similar to recent events in Kenya.
The police also cautioned against potentially violent demonstrations, echoing concerns from Governor Uzodinma about a repeat of the EndSARS protests against police brutality in October 2020.
The protest, driven by economic hardship and gaining traction on social media, is scheduled to occur across all states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August.
Rising prices of food and basic commodities, coupled with one of Nigeria’s worst inflation rates, have fueled public discontent.
The economic crisis is attributed to the government’s removal of petrol subsidies and the unification of forex windows.
