The Labour Party has refuted claims made by the Presidency that its presidential flag bearer, Peter Obi, and his supporters are behind the planned nationwide anti-government protest scheduled to hold on August 1.
The Presidency described calls for the nationwide protests under the hashtags #TinubuMustGo and #Revolution2024 as treasonable.
In a lengthy tweet published on his X account on Saturday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, and his supporters of spreading the hashtags, alleging that “They are not democrats but anarchists”.
“If they understand the meaning of their hashtags, they will realise they are clarion calls for treason. Wanting to end an elected government is high treason. Wanting revolution is a call for a coup d’etat, which is also high treason,” said the Presidential aide.
Onanuga, however, floated a Save-Nigeria-Rally from August 1-15, 2024, in response to plans for nationwide protests from August 1-10 against the rising cost of living and economic hardship.
He claimed that those organising the protests were also behind the #EndSARS protests of October 2020, which later turned violent.
“The protest planners are also the same people who were instigated by IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, to launch the destructive EndSARS protest in Nigeria in October 2020. EndSARS began as a genuine protest by youths against the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad, notorious for its high-handedness.
“IPOB members planning to extricate the South East region from Nigeria infiltrated the protest and hijacked it for their own agenda. Lagos still bears the scar of the malicious destruction by IPOB elements to this day. Two years after EndSARS, the IPOB, and the gullible innocents joined the Labour Party in 2022 to support Peter Obi, a sympathiser of their cause. They are the people spreading the hashtags #EndBadGovernance, #TinubuMustGo, and #Revolution2024. They are not democrats but anarchists,” he said.
Onanuga accused the protest organisers of lacking the patience to wait for another election in 2027, but instead wanting to “destabilise Nigeria by staging a civilian coup against President Bola Tinubu.”
In a name-and-shame campaign, the former Chief of the News Agency of Nigeria drew attention to a protest organiser who operates an anonymous X account, whom he said had been enlisting more persons to join the exercise.
He also named one Babatunde Gbadamosi, whom he recommended that the DSS arrest for urging people “to identify APC members, sponsors, supporters, enablers, thugs, promoters, and appointees.”
Onanuga continued, “There is ‘General Oluchi,’ a woman who goes by the screen name ‘A Field Marshall of the Han Dynasty.’ She has been sending out letters of mobilisation. She even pinned a ‘Week 6’ letter urging Nigerians to wake up and take control of their country, using the language of IPOB, Peter Obi, and his supporters.
“Another member of the malcontents is Brother Bernard, also known as Mikael C. Bernard. He is not based in Nigeria, because he was once busted over Binance and fraudulent crypto businesses in Nigeria. Bernard was the man who once wrote that the naira should go down to zero.”
Onanuga said there was no country in the world where people were not going through some economic challenges and where the cost of living was not a major issue.
He argued that no country was immune from economic turbulence at the moment, noting that civilised and democratic people wait for another election to make leadership changes.
He said, “They don’t trigger mayhem in their countries by staging protests, the end of which nobody can predict.”
He urged Nigerians to “consider the government’s attitude and concern about the cost of living crisis when deciding whether to join the protests by the Labour Party and IPOB supporters.”
“The Tinubu government has not been found wanting in this regard. The minimum wage has been increased by more than 100 per cent. Loans are being disbursed to students in tertiary schools. A credit corporation has been launched to promote consumption credit.
“Palliatives, including the latest distribution of 740 trucks of rice to the 36 states and Abuja, are being rolled out. Businesses, such as pharmaceuticals, are being assisted. The Federal and state governments are investing heavily in agriculture to produce more food.
“The economy is improving, inflation is slowing, the national debt has been reduced in dollar terms, and the FIRS has increased revenue generation to record levels. Investors are coming back to our country. Our stock market is the best in the world, with a 33 per cent return on investment. President Tinubu has a four-year mandate to run his agenda. Those calling for protest should wait till 2027 to either re-elect him or elect their Messiah, Mr Peter Obi,” the statement concluded.
Obi not behind planned protest – LP
The leadership of the Labour Party has, however, refuted the claims of the Presidency and warned against dragging Obi into the rising tension of the planned nationwide protest.
The National Publicity Secretary of the LP, Obiora Ifoh, in a statement titled ‘Obi, Labour Party not involved in ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest,’ reiterated that it was wrong of Onanuga to link the LP and its national leader to the proposed ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest.
He said, “We say there is no truth in the tweet. It is just the figment of the author’s imagination. Labour Party is known for being a very peaceful party, and it has on several occasions asked its followers to follow peace at all times. We are not known as a lawless group, as was evident in the aftermath of the last general election. It is therefore delusional for anyone to link our supporters to the planned protest. Labour Party, Peter Obi, and our supporters are not planning any protests.
“It is therefore puerile for the government or anyone, for that matter, to begin to look for whom to blame for the bad governance witnessed in Nigeria today. Nigeria can still get it right if the right policies are initiated. We also advise that some aides of the Presidency must be cautioned to avoid incendiary pronouncements capable of combusting the nation, all in the name of playing politics.”
Don’t make Obi your scape goat- Aide
Also reacting, Obi’s campaign spokesman, Yunusa Tanko, dismissed Onanuga’s claim. Tanko said it would be preposterous of the Presidency to believe that Nigerians cannot carry out a protest against bad governance unless provoked by the opposition.
He said, “With all due respect, is it Peter Obi who goes to the market to buy a bag of rice and beans? Why are people not being fair to this man? This thing concerns every Nigerian. We are talking about hardship that is meted out to Nigerians by this government.
“Even they themselves are feeling the pain, because distant family members will continue to come to them for money due to the hardship. Is it Obi visiting their families to tell them about the rising cost of foodstuffs, including why a bag of rice suddenly rose to N80,000? If they are looking for a dog to give a bad name to hang, it is certainly not Obi.
“They should hold themselves responsible for the situation they put Nigerians in. It has nothing to do with Peter Obi. It is a reaction of the people, by the people, and for the people, which is allowed in a democracy. It is their inalienable right as Nigerians. This allegation is not true, and it is unfair. The APC government should look inward and find who to blame among themselves.”
APC warns against violent protest
Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress has warned that deliberately organising a demonstration to push for a change of government is a treasonable act. The National Publicity Director of APC, Bala Ibrahim, stated this in an interview with our correspondent.
He said, “Opposition is a legitimate action that is permitted by the Constitution. Protest is also a legitimate instrument of expressing opinion to the government in power. But there is a proviso. That protest must be peaceful, orderly, and conducted in a way and manner that will not put the country in distress and make it ungovernable.
“Anything that is done to destroy order in a country is akin to treason, a protest against the Constitution, and is also equivalent to a call for the forceful change of government, which no responsible government will allow.
“So, those who are calling for protest must be conscious of this constitutional provision, consider the outcome of the protest, and do it in a way and manner that will not become a tool for bringing anarchy to the country.”
Back up your claims with evidence, NNPP to Presidency
The New Nigeria Peoples Party has asked the Presidency to provide evidence to support claims that some opposition elements are mobilising Nigerians for a nationwide protest.
The NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, stated that the APC-led Federal Government was making assumptions based on its own history of organising protests when it was in opposition.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Johnson affirmed that protests were a citizen’s right but emphasised that they must be peaceful.
He stated, “I am sure the APC was behind many protests before they got into government. They even came out openly, so I don’t blame them for thinking that. But as a party, we know nothing about it. If they have evidence to back their claims, they should make it known. They should present their evidence to unveil those behind it.
“They organised many protests, and maybe that is why they are assuming that some people in the opposition are behind this too.
“We, as a party, know that it is the right of citizens to protest peacefully. It is their right, and we always believe that whenever you criticise, you must be constructive.
“The purpose of protest is to get the government to listen and see things from different perspectives. So the people have a right to do that.
“However, we do not support the breakdown of law and order or anarchy in any way. If it does occur, we ask the police to use restraint to control the crowd with best practices. So, those who want to protest should do so peacefully and within the ambit of the law.”
Why Nigerians are planning protest – CSOs
Some civil society organisations have announced that Nigerians are planning a nationwide protest to express their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs in the country.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the Secretary of the Joint Action Front, Abiodun Bamigboye, stated, “Nigerians have the right to embark on a protest. They are doing so to express their dissatisfaction with the current situation in the country. They are not engaging in any actions that are not permissible under the law.”
He urged the government to address the issues raised by the citizens rather than issuing threats.
Additionally, Prince Nze, the Executive Director of Human Rights and Justice Group International, emphasised the importance of the government listening to its citizens. “When citizens protest, it means there are issues that have been identified. A responsive government would listen to its citizens, understand where improvements are needed, and take urgent action,” he said.
- Additional reports: Ismaeel Uthman, Olufemi Adediran, Abdulrahman Zakariyau, and Daniel Ayantoye
