Civil society organisations, students unions and the organised labour have said they planned to organise a peaceful protest in Port Harcourt against federal government’s inability to solve the perennial fuel scarcity in the country.
A statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday by the Co-facilitator of the protest, Livingstone Wechie, said the protest scheduled for Thursday next week, would also force the federal government to take necessary steps to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.
Wechie said, “This protest is aimed at driving a strong citizenship position against the inability of the Federal government to address the burning perennial fuel scarcity, zero MGW/total lack of electricity amidst increased tariff, incessant/fraudulent bank charges on poor Nigerians among other serious economic matters.
“In furtherance to these areas, the protest will serve as a platform to proffer a lasting solution to this untold hardship by Nigerians which has resulted in incalculable losses, shutting down of businesses, increase in crime and criminality, mass job losses, lack of any economic policy direction by the Federal government, lack of projects among others.
“We believe the government has exhibited gross ineptitude and incapacity in its dealings. Thus, it has continued to play the blame game on the past Goodluck Jonathan administration as a cover-up to its failures which is a betrayal of its promises to Nigerians during the campaigns and elections that brought it to power.
“Thus the attitude of a travelling President in a travailing country can no longer be acceptable. Therefore we want to use this mass protest to creatively challenge and engage the government on what Nigerians want and how they want their future to be like.”
He listed some of the major objectives of the protest was to include pressure government to solve the biting petroleum and power problems without any further delays or excuses.
He also said it would press home the demand for a quick review and investigation of the fraudulent/incessant bank charges made against the banking public, as well to demand for a practical/ working economic policy direction by the Federal government as a way of reviving this current economy that is almost brought to a halt.
He also said the protest would put government on check and “challenge it legally, lawfully, peacefully, creatively and pro-actively in its program for the masses, particularly in line with the promises it made on party platform on its way to power”.
“The protest, which is tagged Occupy Nigeria Season 2, will involve people from various civil society organizations including Civil Liberties organization, NANS, market women groups, student unions, Labour, Social media activists and several other professional bodies and interest groups,” Wechie said.
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