Not fewer than 48 youth groups in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has pulled out of the proposed nationwide protests against economic hardship currently rocking the country slated for August 1st.
Chairman National Youth Council of Nigeria (FCT branch), Comrade Suleiman Ango disclosed this during the town hall engagement organized by the FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesome Wike, over the weekend in Abuja.
Ango, who said following several meetings, the youth groups have unanimously agreed that there would be no protest in the FCT, however, called for the empowerment of the youths in FCT, creation of a Secretariat for youth affairs and reversal in the appointment of non-indigene Edward Onoja, former deputy governor of Kogi State to represent FCT in the Public Complaints Commission.
Ango said: “Following several meetings with youth groups in the FCT, about 48 groups have unanimously agreed to pull out of down the protest.
“As youths we want employment in the FCT, we a creation of Mandate Secretariat for youths, we want our slot in the National Complaints Commission which is given non-indigene to be given back to us.”
Responding the FCT Minister who explained that the meeting was necessary for stakeholders in the FCT to agree on the need for peace and order, which could not be guaranteed if residents joined the protest, also promised to table the demands of the youth before President Bola Tinubu.
He said: “I do know that if I send a memo to him to create a Youth Secretariat, Mr President will create it. As youths I suggest you write and send the memo to us, and I will forward it to Mr President.
“By the time Mr President approves the Youth Secretariat, we will sit and work out how the youths’ empowerment should go and what sort of empowerment.
“If you check in our cabinet, it’s made of youths too. The coordinator of the Satellite Towns is a youth. The Mandate Secretary of Area Council is a Youth. The General Council is a Youth. So, if you have an eight-member cabinet, you have three as youths, then you cannot say the youths have not been carried along”.
The Minister who also noted that the FCT, for the first time, has their son as a Minister in the Federal cabinet, said the appointment of a non-indigene to represent the FCT in the Public Complaints Commission will be brought to the attention of the President for correction.
He said, “As a president, I don’t think that he knows everything. These are appointments, thousands of people submit names; some people can be mischievous; he won’t know until the attention is brought to him. That is the way it is done.
“So, I thank God you did not go to protest on the road. This is what we are talking about in the dialogue. When you dialogue, people will take correction. When you discuss, people will say oh this is the mistake we have made. Let us correct the mistake and that is Mr. President for you. He has never told you that he will not make a mistake. He is human. He would make mistakes. That’s why he’s a human being.
“But what is important is that when you call his attention that this is a mistake made, he has that penchant for correcting such mistakes. So, please let nobody bother to go and carry placards or whatever to go on the street. It’s something that will be sorted out”.
