Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, Minister of Defence, has appealed to the organizers of the planned protest to reconsider their decision and instead engage in a roundtable discussion with the Federal Government.
He emphasized that President Tinubu’s reforms are already yielding positive results, and the nation’s economy is on a gradual but steady path of recovery.
Abubakar assured citizens that the current administration is committed to addressing their needs and concerns, and he encouraged the protest organizers to take advantage of the government’s willingness to listen and collaborate. By engaging in dialogue, the minister believes that meaningful solutions can be found to address the nation’s challenges, rather than resorting to protests.
According to the Minister, the reforms initiated by Mr. President have started improving the lives of Nigerians as the economic growth in Q1 2024 was the second fastest first-quarter growth in the last six years.
Defence strategy as enshrined in the Renewed Hope Agenda in improving security is yielding result as well.
“There is serious improvement in security as most of the roads and highways hitherto closed due to insecurity have been opened. Herders and farmers clashes have been solved by the creation of Livestock Ministry and many farmers have returned to their farms.
Mr. President is supporting the farmers and has encouraged State Governors to do same. Also, there is massive surrendering of terrorists and high profile terrorist kingpins have been arrested.
Another example of President Tinubu’s initiative according to the Minister is the introduction of the Nigerian Student Loan Scheme to increase access to higher education and reduce financial burden on students.
Furthermore, he said that another innovation of Mr. President is the massive increase in funding for infrastructures like roads, rails, energy, irrigation (Dams and Channels) through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund (RHIDF). The Minister opined that the innovation of selling crude oil to indigenous refining companies in Naira is another robust effort by Mr. President and the signing of the National Minimum Wage Act into Law, which is aimed at enhancing the welfare of the Nigerian Workers are all efforts at stabilising the economy.
He also stated that another bold step taken by Mr. President is the autonomy granted to the Local Governments for effective accountability, development at the grassroots and strengthening of governance.
The Minister said that since the launch of compressed natural gas initiative (CNG) by Mr. President, it is expected that the cost of transportation will reduce as much as 50 percent adding that, this has unlocked the nation’s huge potential in the gas sector.
CNG conversion centres are growing exponentially across the country thereby creating job opportunities, he explained. The Federal Government has also made available 30,000 kits for the conversion 30,000 petrol-powered engines at no cost within the next 90 days.
Also, the first batch of CNG Mass Transit Buses procured by the Federal Government for distribution to the 36 states and FCT have arrived.
While acknowledging the democratic right to protest, the Minister cautioned against using the protest to cause mayhem, emphasizing that the proposed August 1 protest is poorly timed given the positive turnaround in the economy.
The minister’s call for dialogue comes as the country prepares for a proposed protest, which aims to draw attention to various socio-economic issues.
