Protest Alert: Fayose Warns Against Potential Takeover

Former Ekiti Governor Ayo Fayose has alleged certain political figures might be attempting to use the proposed nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest as a covert means to provoke the military into toppling President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He stated this during his interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Fayose stated no political leader could significantly revive Nigeria’s struggling economy within one year.

He said: “There is a perception out there that it (protest) is a coup. That is the perception everywhere. Now they are giving the impression that they want to use this coup for the military to come in. If you are not hearing anything, you have to put your ears to the ground.

“There is no leader that will allow them to come and topple his government. It is good that Asiwaju himself has admitted that protest is good. But the people protesting should remember the consequences of politicising it.

“No man can turn this country around in one year? Let us leave all these talks about APC and PDP. I am not here to hold brief for anybody. The moment your finances are so bad, it is difficult. Today, it is not easy to turn Nigeria into the original state or turn around the situation so easily. And I mean what I’m saying.”

There has been tension over the protest slated for August 1-11.

Various groups supporting the campaign have stated that the protest was sparked by the rising cost of living and the widespread economic hardship in the country.

The former Governor further cautioned the government and the protesters must exercise considerable restraint to prevent the situation from escalating.

He emphasised that stakeholders and political leaders are committed to preventing the country from descending into chaos.

“Both the government and protesters need to exercise a lot of restraint. During my time as Governor of Ekiti, I was one of the vocal people who put the (federal) government in check. But at no time did I call out people to go and do things that can bring the country down. We need to be very careful. We are in a critical stage of our life.

“It doesn’t matter if we protest. When you protest, you will come back to still find that the situation is the same. If Jonathan is not good, Buhari is not good and Asiwaju is not good. Then there is a fundamental problem we all have to address. This is beyond Asiwaju coming to do a miracle.

“We will not look away and allow this country to go down. Already we are in a critical situation, very critical. Let me give you an illustration. When an aircraft is about to land and, at some point, there is an emergency, there are certain levels that the aircraft would have gone for it to land. Otherwise, the aircraft will crash. I pray Nigeria will not crash,” he stated.