Tinubu's Speech: Peter Obi Finally Reacts, Lists Hunger Protesters' Demands

• Peter Obi of the Labour Party has expressed disappointment in President Bola Tinubu's address on the ongoing nationwide hunger protest in the country
• The former governor of Anambra state posited that the president did not address the concerns of the protesters but dwelled more on the issue of the past
• According to Obi, the protesters want the president to address the mismanagement of public resources, reduce the high cost of governance and other national issues

Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has responded to President Bola Tinubu's address to hunger protesters in the country. He said he delayed his response to avoid swaying public opinion.

Obi tweeted on Monday, August 5, thanking the President for addressing the nation, albeit belatedly, which could have prevented the loss of lives.

Tinubu addresses hunger protesters

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President Tinubu addressed the country on Sunday, August 4, regarding the ongoing nationwide hunger protest, which started on Thursday, August 1, and was expected to end on Saturday, August 10.

He expresses disappointment that the President didn't show empathy towards those injured, arrested, or detained during the protests.

The former governor of Anambra emphasizes the government's responsibility to protect protesters' democratic rights and identify criminal elements.

Obi thanks Tinubu for condemning ethnic tension

He appreciates the President's condemnation of ethnic bigotry but hopes for more decisive action.

Obi feels the President's address was disconnected from the people's harsh realities and failed to address critical issues.

He advises the President to surround himself with truth-tellers, not sycophants, and focus on pressing issues like reducing the cost of governance and corruption.

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Obi reiterates the need for the President to declare war on insecurity, the economy, poverty, unemployment, and the power sector.

Obi demands regular briefing from Tinubu

The Labour Party chieftain requests regular briefings from the President to communicate visible measures being taken to revive the nation.

Obi urges the President to reduce the repetition of the problems and instead focus on alleviating suffering, reducing mismanagement, and tackling critical issues to restore hope and faith in Nigeria.

According to Obi:

"Nigerians do not expect the President to solve the nation’s problems overnight, but we do expect a concerted effort to address the mismanagement of public resources, reduce the high cost of governance, and tackle issues like insecurity, corruption, electricity, agriculture, and productivity to set the country on a path to recovery and growth."

See his tweet here:

Lawyer speaks on hunger protesters' demands

Meanwhile, Oladotun Hassan, a legal practitioner, spoke with legit.ng about the protesters' demands, saying many of them are unthinkable and unreasonable, such as the return of the fuel subsidy and the increment of the minimum wage to N250,000. He said:

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"I see some of those demands as unthinkable and unreasonable ideas. Is it that cabals benefitting from the subsidy sponsoring this protest? The singular return of fuel subsidy is not the solution.

"The solution is making Nigeria's four refineries functioning, the Dangote refinery and all the modular refineries and there are more licenced private sector refineries."

Tinubu addresses ethnic tension Atiku, Obi raised

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu has warned against ethnic bigotry and expressed commitment to nation-building.

Tinubu's comment followed alarm from Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the PDP and the Labour Party over the recent IgboMustGo hashtag.

The president warned the advocates of the hashtag that the law would catch up with them if they did not cease such campaigns.

Source: Legit.ng