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As the nation teeters on the brink of a massive demonstration, Governor Uzodinma sounded a clarion call, warning that the protest’s ill-timed rollout risks being commandeered by rogue elements, mirroring the EndSARS movement’s devastating hijacking, which left a trail of destruction in its wake.
During a spontaneous Q&A session with State House correspondents, he opened up about his meeting with President Tinubu, held in the company of Pius Anyim, the former senate president, and Francis Nwifuru, his Ebonyi State counterpart, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to Uzodinma: “Democracy is about the opinion of the people and the protest is allowed in a democratic setting. Every protest must be reasonably conceived to be able to make political sense.
“I think it’s too early at this time in the life of this government for anybody to come out to say he wants to protest. First of all, there have not been any engagements where those who are sponsoring the protest were able to tell us the reasons for the protests.
“Secondly, given the global situation today and the insecurity in the country, we have a very fragile political environment that if not managed and protected very well, may collapse the entire country.
Read also: Oba Of Benin Pleads For Patience With FG Amid Protests
“So those who are going to protest; what is the reason for the protests? And if they have no reason for the protests, I think I’ll advise well-meaning Nigerians, citizens of this country who are making sacrifices, some of us have paid the supreme price for the existence of this country, we should guide our country very jealously.
“I think it is wrong time for anybody to do any protests, because the implication of doing that if care is not taken, is that it may be hijacked. Like the ENDSARS experience, where criminals now hijacked an innocently conceived agitation by young Nigerians.
“So this is another kind of temptation that I think those behind the protests have not been able to come out openly to say they’re behind it.”
It was suggested that those orchestrating the protests had failed to openly declare their role, thus exposing a more insidious form of manipulation.
