Protest: Address issues with sincerity, ex-APC presidential candidate tells Tinubu

A former presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Gbenga Hashim, has urged the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government to address the germane issues raised by promoters of the August 1 protest with sincerity. Hashim, however, cautioned that plotting to change a democratically elected government outside the constitutionally prescribed means under the […]

A former presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Gbenga Hashim, has urged the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led federal government to address the germane issues raised by promoters of the August 1 protest with sincerity.

Hashim, however, cautioned that plotting to change a democratically elected government outside the constitutionally prescribed means under the guise of protesting against bad governance remains a treasonable offence.

He noted that the right to protest by any group of Nigerians or individuals concerning any situation is an essential part of citizens’ freedom of expression guaranteed by Nigeria’s Constitution.

He said these rights, however, must be expressed peacefully without infringing on the rights of others.

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Some Nigerians had billed a nationwide protest for August 1–10, dubbed ’10 Days of Rage’, to protest the economic hardship. But stakeholders, including the presidency, federal and state governments, and traditional and religious leaders, have continued to appeal to citizens to shelve the protest.

Hashim, in a release by his media department, maintained that there “are legitimate grounds for the Nigerian people to protest the prevailing economic situation and a myriad of challenges not currently satisfactorily addressed.”

“Nigerians did protest in robust manners even under military rule.

“What the government needs to do is address the issues with utmost sincerity; it is time for honest introspection.

“However, any group of people allegedly plotting regime change under the cover of protest would be engaging in treason, and where credible evidence exists, would be answerable to the law.

“We are a democracy, one that some of us suffered direly to establish. Though our democracy may be slow to produce positive results for our people, we must resist the temptation and seduction of unconstitutional change, which, in our immediate past, produced horrible outcomes.”