The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu has urged the people of south east of Nigeria not to join the protest organised by some angry Nigerians comig up next month.
Kalu spoke after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the South East Development Bill, SEDC bill into law on Wednesday, saying the administration has done well for Ndigbo.
The Deputy Speaker is the sponsor of the development bill meant to develop the region following the devastation of the Nigerian Civil war.
The protest scheduled to take place between August 1-10, the organisers say is necessary to call government’s attention to the current economic harship and sufferings of Nigerians.
Not a few Nigerians palanning to take part in the protest have blamed the Bola Ahmed Tinubu adminstration for the suffering which they insist came as a result of the austerity mesures introduced by his government.
Some prominent Nigerians have called on the protesters to shun the protest.
Adressing a world press conference on yesreday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, the lawamker from Abia state said President Tinubu has done well for the region, saying it would not be fair to reward him by taking part in the planned protest.
He urged his people, and Nigerians to shun the protest in the interest of peace, pleading for dialogue rather than confrontation.
To his fellow south easterners, he said, “I implore you not to join the planned looming anti-government protest,” adding “I implore Nigerians from all walks of life and the entirety of the country to not heed the calls for protests”
“Instead, let us view the signing of the South East Development Commission bill into law as a testament to the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s resolve to heal the wounds of the past, bury the rumors of the marginalization of the southeast geopolitical zone and renew the hope of the nation towards equitable economic growth and socio-cultural renewal,” he said.
According to him, “This is a time for unity. This is a time for progress. This is a time for peace, not division, not unrest. Unrest and division will divide us further and will under-develop us further. But in an atmosphere of peace and unity, the progress promised by our forefathers will be achieved.
“I also implore Nigerians from all walks of life and the entirety of the country to not heed the calls for protests, but instead continue to trust in the process. Say no to protests. Say yes to the process, which involves policy formulations from government that is people centered, which the parliament have insisted on, that all policies of government must have the people at its center, believe in this process, not the protests, and we will be able to get the profit that this government has promised.
“The reforms of this current administration will take time, no doubt, but it will soon start to suffice, including a reversal of inflation, stabilization of the economy and ensuing multiplier effect in a massive employment boom as a result of industrialization and the outcomes of the work organizations like the SEDC, which is the South East Development Commission, will engineer in the coming days.
“With South East Development Commission, we will leverage to improve agriculture. Entrepreneurial skills will enable industrialization of the region and our innovative mindedness will leverage the opportunities in the digital economy.
“Our creativity will birth a greater cultural and entertainment platform, such as the Igbowood. Our youth and women demography will play a major role in the energy of our development. It is time to put our huge gap deposit in the region to use for industrial parks.
“The gas in our zone will aid these industrial parts that will bring value to the nation. Most of the radicalized youths in our region who have been crying because of the seeming rumors of marginalization and alienation from the center will now have jobs to engage them productively, among others.
“It is no more time to carry arms. It is now time to take up skills that will be stimulated by the South East Development Commission. This is a foundation for peace and security in the southeast. There is no better foundation than this.
“On behalf of the great people of the Southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria, the beating heart of the nation, the land of enterprise and entrepreneurship, let me express my deep gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the Southeast Development Commission SEDC bill into law yesterday,” Kalu said.
The SEDC bill is the latest among the regional developmental bills to come into effect, others are the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, North East Development Commission, NEDC and North West Development Commission, NWDC.
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