The ruling All Progressives Congress has reacted to public protests in Minna and Kano cities on Monday.
Citizens trooped to the streets to express disenchantment against the biting economic hardship.
The APC in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka alleged that opposition parties instigated the protests.
Morka who did not name the political parties he alleged were masterminds of the protest in the two states, claimed it was meant to “destabilize the country for their own base and parochial political gains”.
“That the protests happened simultaneously in both cities is not coincidental. It bears a bold stamp of an orchestrated and coordinated effort to instigate unrest and undermine the government. This mercenary opposition tactic is a clear and present threat to public peace and national security,” he added.
While it acknowledged that the economic policies of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu present administration has its attendant pains with Nigerians at the receiving end, Morka maintained that the administration “is doing everything in its power to mitigate the transient pains of critically important reforms that are crucial to economic recovery and sustainable prosperity for all Nigerians.”
The statement reads in part:
“In its arrant desperation to portray the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration as under-performing, opposition parties have resorted to instigating unsuspecting young people to protests in the streets of some major cities.
“The protests in Minna and Kano on Monday were the manifestation of this devious and unpatriotic plot. That the protests happened simultaneously in both cities is not coincidental. It bears a bold stamp of an orchestrated and coordinated effort to instigate unrest and undermine the government. This mercenary opposition tactic is a clear and present threat to public peace and national security.
“While we recognise the right of citizens to engage in peaceful protest, we urge our good people to be vigilant and not lend themselves to the treacherous attempt by the opposition to promote social strife by its incendiary rhetoric and manipulative plots.
“The President Bola Tinubu-led administration is solidly committed to doing everything in its power to mitigate the transient pains of critically important reforms that are crucial to economic recovery and sustainable prosperity for all Nigerians. It behoves us as good citizens of our beloved country to stand fast with our government in this noble stride. In due time, these policy reforms will yield enduring beneficial transformation of the material conditions of life in the country.
“We implore Nigerians to shun the guile and unpatriotic attempts by opposition elements to destabilize the country for their own base and parochial political gains.“
