Dialogue with protest organisers, Reps tells FG

The minority caucus in the House of Representatives, on Wednesday, urged the Federal Government to engage in dialogue with individuals planning to protest, with the aim of finding a permanent resolution to the concerns they have raised.

The caucus issued this demand as part of a resolution passed during a special meeting and dinner held in Abuja on Monday evening, which concluded with a call to action.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Chairman Kingsley Chinda, through the caucus’s media team, called on the protest organizers to abandon their plans, citing concerns about the country’s deteriorating security situation.

“We are not going to encourage any protesters because in the past, we observed in most cases that even peaceful protests have been overtaken by hoodlums, and with the insecurity situation in some parts of the country, you may not have the control of the gathering of people. So some unscrupulous people may use the opportunity to create chaos,” he said.

He also called on the Federal Government government to adopt a non-kinetic approach to tackling the security challenges in the country.

“We acknowledge and observe the insecurity situation in the country and we call on the government to use carrot and stick by ensuring that the result is seen. Let all the security chiefs do what is right to ensure that Nigerians are protected,” he added.

The caucus also called on the government to create means to ensure citizens are self-reliant in a bid to tackle the economic challenges in the country.

“We also acknowledged in our discussion that there is hunger in the land and we appeal to the government not only to be giving palliatives but to create ways and means whereby people can be self-reliant,” he said.

He said the dinner was organised to thank members of the caucus for their support.

“Basically the main purpose of our gathering was just to have an end-of-year dinner. We felt it is important to organise a dinner and thank all our members for giving us the necessary support,” he added.