The Senator representing Plateau Central at the National Assembly, Hon. Diket Plang, has appealed to the youths who are waiting to join the August 1 2024, national protest to shelve the idea and pursue dialogue.
Plang said that President Bola Tinubu meant well for the country, appealing to the organizers of the protest to give Tinubu some time to fix Nigeria.
He said he is not unaware of the hardship faced in the country as a result of the subsidy removal, but said the dividends of the positive change will soon be felt by the masses.
“The President and his team are not resting on their oars towards repositioning the country and making life better for the ordinary Nigerian.
“I urged the youths and those behind the planned protest to shelve the idea”, Plang said in a statement sent to our correspondent.
He continued: “We also have to take cognizance of the fact that the president took over amidst a mounting economic downturn, which requires systemic reforms and understanding of the people.
“Mr. President is gradually fixing things; the processes have started, and he is not unmindful of the hardship in the country, hence the palliatives being rolled out to cushion the hardship.
“It is true that protest is the right of the people as enshrined in our Constitution, but we need to be careful based on the recent experience of the #EndSars protest that was hijacked by hoodlums and turned violent leading to the destruction of properties.
“The president needs understanding, not protest. Protest cannot fix the challenges; it can only aggravate the problems facing the country.
“Let’s cooperate with our leaders, especially the president, governors, and those elected at various levels. They need our prayers and understanding at this crucial moment.
“We have no other country. We must be united in tackling the prevailing economic hardship in the country; we shouldn’t indulge in any act that will worsen the situation”, he said.
Plang enjoined the youths in his constituency and entire state to refrain from protest, adding that any attempt to embark on such might disrupt the fragile peace being experienced at the moment.
“There is the likelihood of it being hijacked by some undesirable elements to foment trouble”, he said.
It would be recalled that that the Senator has taken steps in his own way to empower the people of his constituents by providing trucks of fertilizers,
Recall that Senate Plang recently rolled out some palliative measures, such as the distribution of 10 trucks of fertilizers, sewing machines, grinding machines and several bags of assorted grains.
He had also trained the youths on skills, facilitated perimeter fencing and Solar lightening of public schools, sinking of several boreholes among others.
