The member representing Ido/Osi/Moba/Ilejemeje Federal Constituency of Ekiti State, Hon Akinlayo Kolawole, has called on Nigerians to be patient with the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, saying that the citizens would soon smile with the various policies being put in place if allowed to materialise.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Monday on the heels of protests across the country due to economic hardship, the lawmaker expressed confidence in the government to steer the country to prosperity, stating that it inherited a bad economy.
He urged Nigerians to embrace dialogue as a means of addressing their concerns rather than protests which would lead to the wanton destruction of lives and properties.
The lawmaker, who admitted that protest is the constitutional right of the citizens if they felt that the government was not doing what it wanted, pointed out that citizens should stop violent protests and embrace peaceful dialogue for the progress of the country
He said that President Tinubu was confronting the various challenges head-on for the benefit of Nigerians and as such, should be allowed to be focused.
According to him, “If you inherit a bad structure, it will take a while for you to repair it and make it stand solid. So, I want to beg all of us and the press people to also be patient with the government in power. Give us a little time.
“I promise that the government will do the needful. We all know that. And as we get the youth that are protesting, I will visit them and advise. And also I beg them to please dialogue. Because if you could see the crisis in Iran if you look at the crisis in Russia and Ukraine for the past almost two years. They have be fighting and no solution in place.
“But if they come to the table, I think that crisis will be resolved. So I want our youth to also consider that olive branch that the president has offered them. That they should come to the table for dialogue.
“So whatever demand they have, they can table it before the government. The one the government can do immediately, they will offer it. The one they can do in a long time process, they will also let them know.
“So dialogue is better than protest. So we advise our youth and our compatriots to please be patient with the government. The government will do the needful at the right time,” he said.
Speaking on why the protest did not take place in Ekiti State, the lawmakers pointed out that the state governor, Hon Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji “is very connected with his people since he assumed office and doing people-oriented projects that will not make the people to protest.”
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