The Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate for the general election of 2023, Peter Obi, has expressed support for the August 1 demonstration and urged protesters to follow the law. Obi made the statements on Sunday following a meeting with Governor Alex Otti of Abia State. Obi emphasized the constitutional freedom to protest in his message and urged demonstrators to behave civilly. Protest is permitted under the Nigerian constitution. I only ask that individuals who are protesting do it in a way that complies with the law and is civil so that our country can demonstrate that we uphold the law.
Obi attributed the disturbance to widespread hunger and youth despair, acknowledging the difficult circumstances that many Nigerians confront. “Everyone is aware of how challenging things are. When they discuss the protest’s sponsors, I usually respond that they are really straightforward. We must all pay attention to what Nigerians are going through because it is hunger and despair among the youth. Additionally, the former governor urged security services to act appropriately.
Obi’s statement read: “Having led the call for the President to address the nation and respond to the demands of the people, and having listened to the belated speech, I needed to delay my response to see if my understanding of the address was aligned with others. I hesitated to respond immediately, as I felt it could have been perceived as another attempt by Peter Obi to sway public opinion, especially since I was initially accused of sponsoring the protest.“However, I must begin by thanking the President for finally addressing the people, albeit belatedly, which might have prevented the unnecessary loss of innocent lives, including those of our security agents. While I had hoped that, in consoling the families of those who lost their loved ones in the protest, he would also show some empathy towards those who were injured, arrested, and detained due to the overzealous and unprofessional conduct of some security operatives, this was unfortunately not the case. It is the responsibility of the government to identify criminal elements attempting to disrupt the protest through looting and other unlawful behaviours and to protect those genuinely exercising their democratic rights.
