No fewer than 24 youth groups in Adamawa State have withdrawn from the forthcoming national protest which is pencilled down for August 1, 2024.
The youths under the aegis of Adamawa Activists Unite, at a press conference in Yola on Friday said they found it expedient to withdraw from the protest based on popular counsel and the prospects of the protest being hijacked by unscrupulous elements in the system to foment trouble and anarchy in the land.
Leader of the youth activists, Ahmed Bala Aliyu then presented ten points demand for the federal government in order to cushion the suffering of Nigerians.
“We stand before you to announce the withdrawal of our planned peaceful protest, this decision was made after careful consideration of numerous advisories from individuals, various groups, security agencies, and stakeholders,” he said.
He added that two key factors informed their decision to boycott the scheduled protest which include, lack of clarity of leadership on the part of the protesters, which according to Aliyu rendered the process imprudent and treacherous.
According to him, the second reason for their action has to do with the propensity of hoodlums and miscreants to hijack the process and cause massive upheaval coupled with assurances by the president to institute far reaching economic reforms.
The youths then urged the president to implement effective measures to ensure the safety and security of all citizens, develop and implement policies to alleviate poverty and promote economic prosperity, reduce prices of petroleum products, invest in the revitalization of Nigeria’s refineries to increase and reverse the current petrol price to below 300 per litre in order to reduce the burden on citizens.
Other demands include review of electricity tariffs to, restoration of tertiary institution fees to their previous rates reduction of the cost of governance, including salaries and allowances of national legislators and other political office holders, stoppage of acquisition of foreign loans and reduction of tax on citizens.
