Senate President Godswill Akpabio has stirred controversy with his recent comments regarding the upcoming nationwide protests over economic hardships. Speaking at an event organized by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Rivers State on Tuesday, Akpabio made a dismissive remark about the protestors, stating, \u201cThose who want to protest can protest, but let us be there eating.\u201d<\/p>\n
His comments come amid growing discontent among Nigerians who are planning nationwide demonstrations to demand economic and political reforms. The protests have been organized in response to rising economic pressures and perceived government inefficacy.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun met with some of the protest organizers in Abuja, urging them to consider a virtual demonstration as a safer alternative to physical gatherings. Despite his appeal, the organizers remained resolute about their plans to take to the streets.<\/p>\n
During the NDDC event, Akpabio reiterated his lack of interest in regime change and downplayed the significance of the planned protests. \u201cAll of us feel the impact of what is happening now. But we are aware it will be for a short while. MD, I want to thank you for what you said. You said we are not interested in regime change, let us own this government,\u201d Akpabio said, addressing the NDDC Managing Director and other attendees.<\/p>\n
He further elaborated on his stance, \u201cThose who want to protest can protest, but let us be there eating \u2014 I must thank the Niger Delta.\u201d This remark was interpreted by many as an attempt to trivialize the protesters\u2019 concerns and show a lack of empathy towards the ongoing economic struggles faced by many Nigerians.<\/p>\n
The Senate President\u2019s comments have sparked a wave of criticism and backlash on social media, with many accusing him of being out of touch with the realities faced by ordinary citizens. Critics argue that his response reflects a disregard for the genuine grievances driving the planned protests and a dismissive attitude towards the plight of the average Nigerian.<\/p>\n
In response to Akpabio’s remarks, several activists and opposition figures have called for heightened solidarity and a renewed focus on addressing the core issues driving the protests. They argue that the economic challenges and political dissatisfaction motivating the demonstrations are real and warrant serious attention from government officials.<\/p>\n
As the date for the nationwide protests approaches, tensions remain high, with both sides preparing for what could be a significant and potentially contentious day of action. The government’s response and the protesters\u2019 ability to mobilize will likely shape the unfolding political landscape in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
The NDDC event, where Akpabio made his controversial comments, was intended to showcase ongoing development projects in the Niger Delta region. However, the focus of the day quickly shifted to the broader political implications of the Senate President\u2019s statements and their impact on public sentiment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senate President Godswill Akpabio has stirred controversy with his recent comments regarding the upcoming nationwide protests over economic hardships. Speaking at an event organized by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Rivers State on Tuesday, Akpabio made a dismissive remark about the protestors, stating, \u201cThose who want to protest can protest, but let us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":35208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-41311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41314,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41311\/revisions\/41314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}