One of the organisers of the planned protest against hunger and hardship, the Take It Back Movement, has vowed to go ahead with the protest at Eagle Square in Abuja, whether or not the government approves usage of the venue.
The Mobilization Director of the organisation, Damilare Adenola, who was speaking on the Channels TV’s Sunday Politics, said the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had been written to for permission.
The youth leader had signed a letter addressed to the minister, seeking use of the facility. The letter was dated July 26, 2024, and was broadcast on social media platforms.
However, as of Saturday, the minister said he hadn’t received the letter.
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“Who are these people who want to protest? They have applied to me to grant Eagle Square. Do you apply to me through social media?”
“You will write a letter to the minister. I will see you; who are you; what do you want to do? How many days do you want to spend? How much will you pay?
“You must apply properly. You must pay what we call security cost so that if there is any damage to the facility, we will take from that security cost and repair it.
“We don’t just give people because you have applied. You must fulfil the conditions. People have paid for Eagle Square, and you said you have applied to me now.
“So, I should go and cancel the other people’s own because you want to protest? It is first come, first served.
“I am not saying that people should not protest, but not protest that is aimed at destabilising the government,” he added.
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However, Adenola, on Sunday, blamed the delay in the delivery of the letter on bureaucratic bottlenecks in government but said the minister would get the letter unfailingly on Monday.
“It is possible that the receipt of the letter is being delayed by most likely bureaucracy in government or the minister is likely being insincere about receiving the letter.
“If he (Wike) insists that he hasn’t received it, the alternative is that he was served by publication because many Nigerian ministries streamline what to receive or not. If he says he didn’t get it physically, then we could as well say that he was served by publication.
“The truth is that the Eagle Square is a public property. When I saw the video of the minister, I was amazed because I saw the minister asking us to pay rent, pay security fees and all that.
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“My question to the minister is this: how does the minister expect a greater population of Nigerian youths who are impoverished, who have no jobs to afford what he is expecting us to pay?
“We are going to be at the Eagle Square on August 1st,” he said.
The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, has been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the FCT in August.
Also speaking on the programme, Director Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said: “We need to cut the protesters some slack because they have expressed their commitment to exercise this right to protest peacefully. The government should learn to talk with the youths and not talk at them”
He said the Nigerian constitution – Section 40 – doesn’t require protesters to get a permit before they carry out their protest.