The former spokesperson for the Labour Party presidential campaign council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has stated that President Bola Tinubu orchestrated one of the greatest protests in Nigeria during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.... CLICK TO READ THE FULL NEWS HERE▶▶
He mentioned that the protest was in response to a N20 increase in fuel prices, while under Tinubu’s government, fuel prices skyrocketed from N195 to N900, with prices in Lagos reaching N1,200.
Okonkwo criticised the Tinubu-led government for failing to address the citizens’ concerns regarding hardship and hunger in the nation.
The actor turned politician bemoaned President Tinubu’s speech, labelling it as contradictory, inflammatory, annoying, and disheartening, adding that it did not address the country’s issues.
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Okonkwo said,
“I know that President Tinubu unleashed the greatest protest against this country and I will not say they were extremely violent. When they protested against Goodluck Jonathan because of a N20 increase in fuel, today they say purportedly that they have removed fuel subsidy that landed the price of fuel from N195 to N1,000, in Lagos N1,200. And the funny thing is that it is not even available. People have to spend hours in the filling station to pay N900 and it is not even available, what a government.
The people are protesting for hunger and hardship for deprivation, for degradation and the president was compelled to speak. I wish they did not compel him, because if I were a media aide, I would’ve preferred there was no speech at all because a bad speech is worse than no speech at all.
First and foremost, it was contradictory, inflammatory, annoying, and disheartening. In paragraph 2 of that speech, he was recognizing that it was the children that are desiring for a better nation that are protesting.
In paragraph 5, he’s already saying it is by some politicians that have political agenda, what a contradiction. In paragraph 6, the president said, in his own words, for people who want to take undue advantage of this situation to threaten a section of the country, be warned, the law will catch up on you. There is no place for ethnic bigotry in Nigeria we seek to build.
This same president is harbouring as a media aide, a man, who after 2023, said Igbos are aliens in Yoruba land. He said Igbos should never interfere with the policies of Lagos State, and in 2027 it is should not repeat itself. It was on his Twitter page and I am talking about Bayo Onanuga. If the president is sincere in what he said in paragraph 6 of speech, the first thing he would have done was to sack Bayo Onanuga.
In addition to the speech being empty and very annoying, it was leaked before the day, and people were making caricature of the president when he was talking.”
