President Tinubu Minister, Wike has linked Atiku, Kwankwaso, Peter Obi and El-Rufai among other 2023 election losers to the August 1st protests.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has vowed to resist any protest geared towards overthrowing the present government.
This Nigeria news platform understands that Wike claimed some people lost elections and want to stage the proposed protest to achieve their aim.
He said this while speaking at a town hall meeting with FCT stakeholders organised by the FCT Administration on Saturday.
The Minister, who called on all to be patient with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, assured that all the issues on ground would be tackled very soon, adding that Tinubu has the capacity to do much more and further deliver the dividends of democracy.
ALSO: Filling Stations Begin Shut Down Over Planned Nationwide Hunger Protests
Wike urged people to shun the planned protest which he said will further bring a setback to the nation.
He said: “There are politicians who want to be in power at all cost, who are these people who want to protest. Even on social media that have applied to me to grant the Eagle Square for protest. Do you apply to me through social media? You will write to the office of the minister, I will see you, and ask you how many days do you want to spend? How much will you pay?
“There are people who lost elections, the only way they can be relevant is to overthrow the government in whichever way. We will not allow that. I have seen all kinds of threats that I will die tomorrow, I know I will die one day, so you do not need to remind me of that. If I die tomorrow, you are not the one that killed me, it is my time. I will die the day God says I will die.
“If Abuja is working, Nigeria will work. When we came on board so many people cried out that things were not moving. But by the grace of God with the support we had from President Tinubu there are changes. And we are committed to making more changes. When we came in, insecurity was so high. For the first time we went out to all the area councils, we spoke with the Chiefs, Muslim and Christian leaders, youths, women, and other stakeholders and we asked them what they want us to do, the government alone cannot do it.
“And with the support that you have given with the security agencies you can attest to the fact that the situation is different. We are not saying that we have brought insecurity to the end, nobody in this world, no country that there is no insecurity.
“Afterall they nearly killed Trump recently. If it was in Nigeria now we would have said our security agencies are not working and that things have failed. Yesterday (Friday) they sabotaged the train system in Paris, keeping over 800 thousand people stranded. If it was here they would say that our security people are not working. And that is an advanced country.
“Nobody can say that you can completely eliminate insecurity. If they tell you everyday what they do everyday to secure us.You will be shocked. Hundreds of criminals are arrested everyday, prosecuted everyday. If they let you know, it will put fear in you. Very soon we will start building security stations as they requested in the area councils. How can we now see all these and people will say nothing has been done or nothing is happening. Let us be sincere to ourselves. I agree that we have the problem of hunger.
“We have a duty to provide food and we also have a duty to provide infrastructure. This problem we are talking about is not a problem of today. That is why when you see a decayed economy, you need leadership that will bring policies. Now the president has said there are problems and there are challenges, I have the capacity to face the problems and challenges”.
On the issue of granting the Eagle Square for protest, Wike said: “I watch some people on channel news telling the Inspector -General of Police that they have applied. You don’t apply to me through channels TV. You must apply properly. You must pay what we call security cost. So that if there is any damage to the facility, we will use that security cost to repair. People have applied in months, so it must be first come, first serve.
“Protest does not solve any problem. Protest creates small problems because hoodlums will always want to take advantage in order to cause a crisis. I have always said that there is nothing wrong, it is your right to protest, but it will be within the ambit of the law. A protest that is geared towards destruction, and geared to overthrow the government then that is not a legitimate protest”.
Religious leaders, women societies among other stakeholders vowed to ensure that peace reign and assured that they will not be part of the forthcoming protest.
The Minister also went to Kuje where he urged residents to shun the planned protest and support the present administration.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the year 2023 was a turbulent one for Nigerian politics, as the country witnessed a historic presidential election, a series of cabinet appointments, and several corruption scandals.
Some politicians emerged victorious, while others suffered defeats, disappointments, and disgrace. Here are 10 of the biggest political losers in 2023:
– Atiku Abubakar: The former vice president and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party came second in the election, losing to Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress by over 1.8 million votes. Atiku rejected the results and challenged them in court, but his petition was dismissed for lack of merit at the Supreme Court. He also faced allegations of money laundering and tax evasion in the UK and the US.
– Peter Obi: The former governor of Anambra State and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party came third in the election, with 25.4% of the vote. Obi was seen as a strong contender, with his reputation for good governance and economic development. However, he failed to win the support of the Northern and Western region.
– Rabiu Kwankwaso: The former governor of Kano State and the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party came fourth in the election, with 6.23% of the vote. Kwankwaso was expected to perform well in the north-western region, where he had a large following. However, he only won his home state of Kano, and lost to Tinubu in the other six states. He also faced a rift with his former deputy, Abdullahi Ganduje, who defected to the APC and became the chairman of the party.
– Nasir El-Rufai: The former governor of Kaduna State was nominated by President Tinubu to serve as federal minister, but the Senate rejected him during screening over issues bordering on security. El-Rufai’s nomination was withdrawn after informing Tinubu that he was no longer interested in the position again, nominating his former commissioner for his replacement.
– Ben Ayade: The former governor of Cross River state who had hoped to return to the Senate after completing his eight-year tenure as the governor was defeated by Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe of the PDP, who received 76,145 votes, while Ayade polled 56,595.
