The chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory have declared their commitment to resisting any efforts to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through undemocratic protests.
Speaking at a press conference held at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, Alphonsus Ogar Eba, Chairman of the Cross River State chapter and Secretary of the APC States Chairmen Forum, highlighted concerns over a planned 10-day protest aimed at destabilizing Tinubu’s government.
He emphasized, “We will not fold our arms and allow undemocratic forces to topple the government we worked so hard to elect into office. That will be a disservice to the good people of Nigeria who freely gave us this mandate.”
As the nationwide protest slated for August 1 to August 10 in response to rising costs, insecurity, food shortages, and widespread poverty is gathering momentum, the APC chairmen warned that violent protests would be counterproductive.
They announced plans to mobilize party structures from wards to the national level between July 29 and August 11, 2024, to highlight the positive achievements of President Tinubu.
The chairmen urged Nigerians to resist intimidation and to support security agencies in identifying and reporting criminal elements.
Eba stated, “We call on all patriotic Nigerians to resist any attempt by any one or any group of persons to intimidate them into unorganised protest likely to endanger the peace we currently enjoy as a nation. We call on patriots to join forces with security agencies to report any criminal element who attempt to carry out any act of violence.”
The forum announced a series of peaceful rallies to promote Tinubu’s projects and programs, cautioning that violent protests would undermine democratic ideals.
Eba added, “Protest is a constitutional right when done through the rule of law. However, security reports have shown that it is counterproductive to embark on this protest this time as there are sinister arrangements by some unpatriotic persons to hijack the protest for the sole purpose of unleashing nefarious agenda to perpetrate violence and indulge in high-level criminality reminiscent of the 2020 Endsars protest and the recent experience in Kenya.”
Eba concluded by urging all Nigerians to join in protecting democracy, saying, “It is our humble view that this will worsen our already challenging socio-economic situation and that is why we have decided to join our voices to make this appeal to all Nigerians.”
