The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, and the party’s only state governor, Alex Otti of Abia, have expressed divergent views on the planned nationwide protest against economic hardship in Nigeria.

While Mr Obi declared his support for the protest and urged the government to dialogue with the protesters, Mr Otti said the organisers should let the government address their concerns rather than protest and that the protest could turn violent beyond the intent of the organisers.

The planned protest

Some Nigerians are planning to embark on the protest from 1 to 10 August.

The proposed exercise has since elicited several reactions, with President Bola Tinubu asking Nigerians to shelve the exercise and allow him more time to tackle the nation’s challenges.

‘Protest is allowed within the constitution’

In his comment, Mr Obi said the planned protest was triggered by hunger and hopelessness among Nigerians.

The LP candidate spoke when he visited Governor Otti in his private residence. The details of their discussion were provided by the governor’s spokesperson, Ukoha Njoku, on Sunday.

“On the issue of protest, within the Nigerian Constitution, protest is allowed. All I plead for is for those who are protesting to do so within the law and in a civil manner that allows us as a nation to show that we live within the law,” Mr Obi said.

“Everybody knows that things are difficult and I always say that when they talk about the sponsors of protest, the sponsors are very simple, it is hunger, it is hopelessness among the youths.

“So, we all have to listen to what Nigerians are going through and I thank our governor (Otti) for doing so. It is critical and important,” he stated.

‘What security agencies should do’

Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, said that rather than disrupting the protest, the security agencies should manage it within the law.

“What I have to say to the security agencies is to ensure that they manage the situation, again within the law. We should not try to be overbearing. It should be something that we do within the law,” he said.

Mr Obi urged the federal government to dialogue with the protesters in order to address their concerns.

“Protest is allowed everywhere globally. And, I also say that people protest in my house and it is for us to listen to those who are protesting and why they are protesting and engage them.

“That is what governance is all about, you talk with them, there is nothing wrong in that,” he said.

“I was governor for years and people protested and we kept dialoguing and deliberating about it.”

My fear about the protest – Otti

On his part, Governor Otti said although protests are allowed by law, he is worried that the proposed protest could be hijacked by hoodlums to cause violence.

“The real challenge is who can ensure or assure us that it will be done within the ambits of the law. We have seen protests hijacked. My fears are that this one will also be hijacked,” he said.

The governor said the law requires protesters to “inform and get the approval of security agencies, particularly police,” before engaging in it.

“Somebody should take responsibility for getting that approval. So, if you don’t have the approval, then it will be against the law for you to go out on the streets to protest,” he claimed.

Mr Otti, also a member of the LP, argued that Nigerians unwilling to join the protest have the right to do so.

“Secondly everyone has a right of free movement. So, if you block the road and you stop people from moving around, then, you have broken the law. So, there are several parts to it that may not be under the control of whoever is calling for the protest,” he said.

The governor suggested that the concerns by those calling for the protest had been made known and that they should give the government the opportunity to address the concerns.

“Hunger is real and that is true. But how do you solve the problem”?

“The problem we found ourselves in the country is economic and I will say that we are actually paying the price for bad governance that didn’t start today,” Mr Otti said.

“So, there are very, very few options left than this difficulty that we are going through. If we are patient and go through it, then after that, I believe the economy will reverse and things will begin to look better.”