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The Federal Government has scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday (today) morning in response to a planned nationwide protest slated for August 1.
The meeting is coming after President Bola Tinubu pleaded with the organisers to shelve the protests and give his administration more time to execute people-oriented programmes.
The meeting indicated that all the ministers, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and the Special Advisers to the President on Policy and Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman; Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga; and former Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, were among those invited for the meeting.
The circular, signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Affairs Office, Richard Pheelangwah, dated July 23, 2024, was titled, ‘Planned Nationwide Protest.’
It read, “I am directed to invite you to attend a meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on the above subject slated as follows: July 24, 2024, Time: 10 am prompt, Venue: Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Conference Room. “Attendance is mandatory. Please accept the warm regards of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
The planned session is coming amid the clamour for nationwide protests from August 1 over the rising cost of living and the economic hardship in the country, which has been blamed on the removal of fuel subsidy, the floating of the naira, and other economic reforms implemented by the Tinubu administration.
The planned demonstration, inspired by the recent Kenya protests, has gained traction on social media, where it is trending under the hashtags ‘EndBadGovernance,’ ‘TinubuMustGo’ and ‘#Revolution2024.’
However, the Presidency and the police authorities have called on youths to abandon the plan, describing it as ill-advised.
