Vice President Kashim Shettima has stated that rather than embarking on nationwide protest, Nigerians should join hands with the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to better the situation.
Senator Shettima stated this on Tuesday when he received representatives of media practitioners from the northern part of the country on a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
While acknowledging the right of citizens to protest, he noted that the protest has its own demerits that are not pleasant.
“Today, if they say there will be a protest, it will amount to a lot of losses. Protest is the right of the people, but let it be known that historically, it has been hijacked by unscrupulous elements,” the Vice President stressed.
He said, contrary to speculations in some quarters, President Tinubu is neither anti-north nor anti-Islam, noting that the President has reflected this in appointments to key positions in Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The Vice President said current statistics of appointments into MDAs show President Tinubu’s choice of northerners for key areas such as agriculture, security, communications technology, health and allied services, among other positions in the Federal Government.
VP Shettima, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha
maintained that the present administration has genuine intentions to transform the lives of many in the North through laudable initiatives geared toward addressing the issues confronting the people.
Citing the Resettlement Scheme for Persons Impacted by Conflict (RSPIC) and the creation of the Ministry of Livestock Development as examples, the Vice President said, “President Tinubu means well for the North. Let us disabuse the minds of our people who have been misinformed that the President does not like the North.
“Who was instrumental in signing the Northwest Development Commission bill into law and who created the Ministry of Livestock Development? It is this same President.
He gave the approval for the launch of the RSPIC Initiative – a non-kinetic approach to the crisis in the northwest region by building an entire ecosystem for victims of the crisis. These policies will have a direct and positive impact on the northern people.
“I want to reiterate this fact, and I am saying it because I know the President’s disposition towards the north. He is a good and just man. He loves the north and is working for its transformation,” the VP added.
Speaking further about the need for the media to rally around the present administration, the Vice President said that taking to the streets to protest will not guarantee any form of development for the region.
He said, “I am appealing to you to unite and support the development of our region by this present government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I am really soliciting your prayers and support for us at this time in the history of our country. This is not the time to protest.
“We in the north need to promote actions and ideals that are critical to the development of our country; we cannot allow things to degenerate.”
He appealed to the media practitioners to mobilize people of the region to leverage all of the opportunities offered by the Federal Government to transform the lives and livelihoods of the people.
The Vice President stressed that President Tinubu has shown his love for the North as reflected in his appointments where people of northern extraction are occupying sensitive positions.
Accordingly, he called on northerners to give their support to the current administration under President Tinubu in order to enhance development in the region.
