***Says those behind Planned Nationwide Protest Faceless.

By Festus Fifen

Ahead of the August 1st planned protest across the country, Imo state Governor Hope Uzodinma has urged citizens to refrain from participating in the proposed nationwide protest calling it an action that will further inflict more hardship on the people.

He made the plea while fielding questions from State House Corespondents after he presented former Senate President Pius Anyim, who recently decamped from People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressive Congress (APC), to President Bola Tinubu.

The Imo governor emphasised that the motivation behind the potential protests stems from individuals with ill intentions who are exploiting the country’s economic challenges.

The governor argued that it is too early in the life of the current administration for anyone to protest, as there has been no engagement where the protest organizers could explain their reasons.

He also expressed concerns about the fragile political environment and the potential for the protests to be hijacked, similar to the EndSARS experience.

Uzodinma advised well-meaning Nigerians to guide the country jealously, as some have paid the supreme price for its existence. He stated that the government is not in support of any protest that lacks a clear program and defined issues to be addressed.

In his words , “Democracy is about opinion of the people and the protest is allowed in a democratic setting. Every protest must be reasonably conceived to able to make political sense.

“I think it’s too early at this time in the life of this government for anybody to come out to say he wants to protest. First of all, there have not been any engagement where those who are sponsoring the protest was able to tell us the reasons for the protests.

“Secondly, given the global situation today and the insecurity in the country, we have a very fragile political environment that if not managed and protected very well, may collapse the entire country.

“So those who are going to protest what is the reason for the protests? And if they have no reason for the protests, I think I’ll advise well meaning Nigerians, citizens of this country who are making sacrifices some of us have paid the supreme price, for the existence of this country, we should guide our country very jealously. I think it is wrong time for anybody to do any protests,

because the implication of

doing that if care is not taken, is that it may be hijacked. Like the ENDSARS experience, where criminals now hijacked an innocently conceived agitation by young Nigerians.

“So this is another kind of temptation that I think those behind the protests have not been able to come out openly to say they’re behind it.

” There is something that is the motive that is yet to be unravelled. So I think that we are not in support of the protests. We are not going to support any protest that has no programmes, that is not discussed, that nobody knows what the problem is. Okay, if you are protesting, what do you want government to do? Because the reason for protests is that they want an issue to be addressed. What are the issues?

“So in my view, I think there is no need to overheat the polity overheat our environment and put our people in a position that the hardship that is occasioned by economic recession all over the world is further worsened. I advise against the protests.”