A former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, and vocal cleric, Prophet Isa Elbuba, led hundreds of Jos residents to participate in the nationwide hunger protest, which commenced on Thursday,
The residents took to the streets, defying the plea and warning by the state government and security agencies.
The protesters, who came out as early as 7 am, marched through various streets. calling for an end to bad governance and prevailing economic hardship in the country.
Addressing the crowd, Dalung, who served as a minister under the administration of ex-Pesident Muhammadu Buhari, asked security operatives not to intimidate protesters, because the Constitution guaranteed the right to peaceful assembly.
On his part, El-Buba, who is the Convener of the Initiative for a Better and Brighter Nigeria, called on President Bola Tinubu to resign for his alleged poor handling of governance.
“President Bola Tinubu must resign; we cannot wait for 2027 to change him! Hunger will not all us to endure that long,” declared El-Buba, who is the General Overseer of the Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministries International.
He insisted that the protest would continue until the demand for good governance was met.
“We are going to be here for the next 10 days, if you don’t stand up for your rights, no one will do it for you,” he said.
The leader of a civil society coalition, Chris Iyama, called on President Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on food insecurity with immediate effect.
Iyama, who is also the Country Director, Equity International Initiative, said the Tinubu administration was executing anti-people policies and demanded that the President set machinery in motion to review his cabinet.
“We are demanding the reversal of the electricity tariff hike, transportation, and price control on commodities. We also want the government to cut down the spending on VIPs and other unwarranted demands,” he said.
Source | Punchng
