Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, has accused Innocent Tuface Idibia and others behind the proposed nationwide protests scheduled for Monday of failing to recover from losing the 2015 general elections.
Idibia had called on Nigerians to come out and protest the seeming incompetence of the present administration in solving the country’s economic problems and draw more attention to the suffering of the masses.
Adesina who spoke on a radio programme monitored in Ibadan on Friday, insisted that some Nigerians cannot come to terms with the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari whom they dislike is now the leader of the country, hence the call for protests.
Reacting to the outrage on the plan by police to stop the protests, Adesina said as much as protests are allowed in a democracy, the police must also be allowed to carryout their legitimate duties.
Nigerian Police authorities had vowed not to allow the rallies take place because of plans by other groups to also stage counter-rallies which may breach the peace.
According to Adesina, the police had the right to stop the rallies on that account.
“In a democracy, protests are legitimate, also, the security agencies have the right to ensure that they do not degenerate. The President is not home now. In Nigeria today, you have a large number of people who seem not to forget that the 2015 elections have gone and have been won. The other group is the group that will always complain, even if angels come to rule Nigeria.
He added that corrupt Nigerians who are used to benefitting from free monies were also in support of the protests.
“Then you have people who believe in free money, there is no more free money, those people will also join the protest. Genuinely concerned people have ways to protest. There are millions of people who are with the President, and I believe that the people who are with the President are more than those who are not with him,” he said.
