Inter-Party Advisory Council ,IPAC, in Lagos State yesterday urged individuals and groups planning to stage protest against hardship in August to shelve the plan, in the interest of peace and stability.
The State IPAC Chairperson, Mrs Temilola Akinade,made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
She said while it was the right of anyone or group to stage protest to vent anger against certain government’s policies or actions , doing so at this time is bad.
Akinade said the country is grappling with too many challenges already,adding the protest could be hijacked to cause loss of lives and destructions, like what happened during the EndSARS protests of 2020.
The IPAC boss said: “A protest is a public expression of disapproval or dissent towards a particular issue, policy, or action.
“It is a form of peaceful assembly, demonstrating objection or resistance, often with the aim of influencing decision-makers, raising awareness, or bringing about change.
“However, this has not been the situation in most protests in Nigeria with recent experiences. While we are not against protest, it must be peaceful.
“The umbrella body of political parties in Lagos will not support any protest that can jeopardise our peace because there can be no progress in an atmosphere of violence.
“2020 EndSars has left horrible marks and caused setback to Nigeria, especially Lagos ,because hoodlums and enemies of the state saw it as avenue to cause chaos and breakdown of law and order”.
“We should not allow that to happen again in our state no matter what is happening and going on.
“We are not saying protest is bad, but at this time and with the current situation in the country, it could set the nation on fire”, she added.
Akinade said that Lagos had always been the epicentre of protests and had suffered losses to violent ones.
The chairperson implored youths and groups to explore dialogue or other peaceful means to express themselves and demand action from government rather than employ an action that could be counter-productive.
