APC group tells #EndSARS protesters to give govt time, end protests

The protagonists of the ongoing #EndSARS protests have been called upon to ceasefire and allow for the implememtation of their demands rather than continuing with the protests and exhausting their goodwill.

The call was made on Saturday by a support group within the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, ‘the APC Young Stakeholders’ which weighed in on the ongoing #EndSARS protests.

Spokesperson of the group, Barr. Aliyu Yusuf Shehu who made comments at a news conference held at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, “acknowledged the genuineness behind the agitations” and commended the protesters for their resilience.

The group said government has made a lot of concessions and that there is need to halt the protests to allow for implementation of government plans.

Shehu said; “While we are aware that the decades of mistrust between our leaders and the led have left little room for us to trust these promises of the government, we must also realise that some of these demands will take time to manifest. We are using this medium to appeal to our fellow young Nigerians to consider pausing the protest while we give reasonable timelines and deliverables acceptable to both the people and the government to see these demands materialize.

READ ALSO: Nigerians in France join #EndSARS protest

“It is time to give the government a chance to work on these promises. Any further discomfort or even loss of life cannot be justified. We ask our fellow youths, to please leave the streets for their houses and place work or businesses. We ask them to stop putting themselves and others at risk. We want no further deaths. There is no need for any more bloodshed. As Young stakeholders of the governing party, we promise to put enough pressure on the government to ensure that these reforms are speedy, complete and comprehensive.

“We don’t want to lose the goodwill garnered so far by continued protests which are now doing more harm to the ordinary people whom this call was to cater for in the first place. There have been reports of great discomfort to people across the country who are trying to get back to earning a legitimate living after months of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic; more concerning is the daily reports of death. Yesterday, there were reports that three persons died in Edo. In Ondo, a car rammed into protesters, killing one and injuring others.

“Oh, we won’t rest! We will fight the fight! This is a promise we ask you to hold us on.

“Our fellow Nigerian youths, tomorrow is still very bright. We don’t want to win the battle and lose the War. Lets not allow people from within and outside with ulterior motives hijack the struggle for selfish gains.

“Let’s leave the streets and go back home. If possible, form civil organizations that will engage government even better! Let’s not make other people suffer. We need not block roads as people with emergencies are bound to be in them.

“We need not ground commercial activities as people need to eat. We should not be the monsters we are trying to fight!” the statement concluded.

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