Rita Odafe
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, has mentioned that President Bola Tinubu is carefully observing the #EndBadGovernance protests nationwide.
The protests commenced in major cities across Nigeria on Thursday and are expected to continue for 10 days in August.
The primary goal of the protests is to denounce the difficulties and challenges exacerbated under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, with citizens voicing their discontent through street demonstrations.
Thousands of Nigerians participated in the protests for three days, creating a nationwide movement that extended to major cities and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
Protesters carried placards and banners, highlighting the country’s deteriorating conditions, such as economic struggles, escalating inflation, inadequate governance, and widespread insecurity.
These demonstrations were tainted by reports of police violence where numerous journalists and media professionals were arrested, physically harmed, intimidated, and obstructed while trying to report on the protests.
Despite calls for President Tinubu to address the nation as the protests entered their third day, he has not made any public statements on the issue.
However, Bagudu informed that the President was closely following the developments.
“Mr. President has been monitoring the situation diligently and responsibly, as expected. He is quite alert to it,” stated the minister during the special program on Channels Television, The August Protest — #EndBadGovernance.
“As a minister, I have my own set of duties. I have been keeping track of the situation, noting down observations for potential contributions,” Bagudu added.
“We have been actively monitoring and attentively listening to understand the sentiments and concerns being voiced,” remarked Bagudu.
