‘Stop Protest, Tinubu Inherited Comatose Economy’

Leaders from the 19 Northern States have urged the people to stop protests, stating that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited a comatose economy.

The leaders, amalgamation of pro-democracy groups from the 19 Northern states under the aegis of the Arewa Initiative for the Defence and Promotion of Democracy (AIDPD) also declared that the North is solidly behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

According to the northern leaders, everyone should cooperate with president Bola Ahmed Tinubu and be patient.

At a press conference at the FCT NUJ Secretariat, after their emergency meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, to review the state of the nation, the leader of the group, Professor Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji, said Nigerians should ignore sponsored protests staged against the federal government in Kano and Minna recently.

Ma‘aji said the harsh economic situation being faced by everybody now, is the fallout of the comatose economy handed over to Tinubu by his predecessor.

Some Nigerians particularly in Minna, the capital of Niger State on Monday this week, took to the street, protesting against harsh economic situations in the country arising from astronomical increases  in prices of commodities.

But addressing the media in Abuja yesterday at Council Secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ), chairman of the  Arewa Initiative,  Professor Shehu Abdullahi Ma‘aji, said pockets of protests staged in some states, were uncalled for, as President Bola Tinubu led federal government is already addressing the problems.

Flanked by members of the group from across the 19 northern states, Professor Ma‘aji said an eight months old government is too early to be assessed, let alone criticized by people with ulterior motives.

Consequently, according to him, the group after an extraordinary meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, resolved that „the North is solidly behind President Tinubu and will continue to support and cooperate with him, for actualisation of his Renewed Hope Agenda.