PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is currently holding a closed door meeting with traditional rulers at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The meeting began at about 2:30 pm when the President arrived at the Council Chamber.
The delegation of royal fathers is led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.
Also at the meeting are Kwara State governor and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman, and Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, who doubles as chairman of the Progressives Governors Foru
While the agenda for meeting remains undisclosed, it may not be unconnected with the planned nationwide protests scheduled for the first week of August against economic hardship ravaging the nation.
This latest development came some minutes after Tinubu and All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors also held a closed door meeting at the Presidential Villa.
According to a report by Daily Trust, the meeting held was also unconnected with efforts by the government to stop the planned nationwide protest.
The ICIR earliier reported how the governors under umbrella of Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), pleaded with Nigerians to shun the nationwide protest
At a closed-door meeting with members of the forum on Wednesday, July 25, the group’s chairman and governor Uzodimma, admitted that the policies of Tinubu’s government had caused pains and economic hardship for the citizens.
He expressed confidence that the issues would be resolved by the government.
“We have looked at the various policies of this government, and we acknowledge a teething problem associated with the initial stage of the programme and agree that because we are very hopeful, it is also the solution to the current problem and economic hardship that has befallen our country.
“In a very short time, we are confident that the situation will be restored. Prosperity would come at the end of the day. We use this opportunity to advise our young boys and girls, young men and women, to desist from being instigated into causing crisis or chaos in the country, he said.
Meanwhile, he blamed opposition parties for instigating attacks on the government and harped on patriotism among citizens.
The ICIR reported that some Nigerians, along with a group led by former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, have been mobilising to start nationwide protests in the first week of August.
Reacting to the plans earlier, Tinubu had asked Nigerians to shelve the protests.
He called on the citizens to await his administration’s response to all their demands.
The ICIR reported that the Nigerian military joined other state actors to threaten the protest organisers, warning that the Armed Forces would not stand by and allow anarchy to befall the nation.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M