APC Challenges Atiku to Lead Planned National Protest
Senator Ajibola Basiru, the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has expressed that he anticipates former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to head the upcoming nationwide protest.Â
In an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Basiru responded to Atiku’s recent criticisms of the Tinubu administration. Atiku had condemned the Federal Government and its agencies for attempting to thwart the planned August 1 protest.
Basiru remarked that the protest leaders’ demands were politically motivated. “As far as I am concerned, talk is very cheap. I expect Atiku Abubakar to lead the protest on the day itself. No one has been prevented from protesting,” he stated.
He emphasized that neither Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu nor the APC has hindered anyone from expressing dissent. “Different people express various ideas, some critical of our government, on radio and TV. Has anyone been arrested for criticizing us? That is what democracy is about—diversity of ideas.”
Basiru argued that the protest is not truly about bad governance, as the demands presented are political in nature. “The leaders are calling for the scrapping of the 1999 constitution, replacing it with a people’s constitution, abolishing the Senate, and addressing the issue of minimum wage. The President has already addressed the minimum wage issue.”
He concluded by asserting that the Tinubu administration is diligently working to address the challenges facing Nigeria.
