The National Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ajibola Basiru, has voiced his expectation that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will personally lead the planned nationwide protest.
Basiru expressed this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday, addressing Atiku’s recent criticisms of the Tinubu administration.
Atiku Abubakar had earlier lambasted the Federal Government and its agencies for attempting to thwart the planned protest scheduled for August 1 across Nigeria. Responding to these criticisms, Basiru emphasized that the demands of the protest leaders were primarily political in nature.
In his interview, Basiru remarked, “As far as I am concerned, talk is very cheap. I expect Atiku Abubakar on the day of the protest to lead. Nobody has stopped somebody from protesting.”
He continued, “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and our party, the APC, have not stopped anybody from protesting. At various radio and TV stations, different people present ideas, some of which are adverse to our government. Has anybody been arrested for criticizing our government? That is what democracy is all about—heterogeneity of ideas.”
Basiru argued that the protest was not genuinely about bad governance, stating, “When you talk about bad governance, there are many parameters that come into play. I don’t know if you have seen the charter of the so-called leaders. Their demands are political.”
He listed the demands of the protest leaders: “They said we should scrap the 1999 constitution and replace it with a people-made constitution, we should do away with the Senate, and then the issue of minimum wage. The President has addressed the question of minimum wage.”
Basiru concluded by asserting that the Tinubu administration is actively working to address the challenges facing Nigeria, suggesting that the protest leaders’ motives were more about political maneuvering than genuine concern for governance issues.
In summary, the APC National Secretary’s remarks highlight a significant political confrontation, reflecting deep divisions over the country’s direction and governance. The coming protest, if led by Atiku Abubakar, could further intensify the political discourse in Nigeria.
