Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, joined protesters on Tuesday at the #OccupyNASS demonstration at the National Assembly, criticising the government for ignoring the struggles of ordinary Nigerians.
Amaechi said citizens are dying from insecurity and hardship, but the President and the Senate do not care. He accused political leaders of being more concerned about their own safety and wealth than the wellbeing of the people.
“People are dying and they don’t care,” Amaechi told the crowd. “On election day, leaders like Akpabio will be inside their mansions, fully protected by security, while ordinary Nigerians will be in the field. Yet, they will still rig the election.”
He warned that Nigerians cannot assume elections will be fair without public action. “If you think they won’t rig the election, then you are wasting your time,” Amaechi said. “We must come out in our numbers to protest and make our voices heard.”
Amaechi also claimed that President Tinubu only began reacting to insecurity in Nigeria when foreign attention, particularly from the United States, was focused on violence against Christians.
He therefore urged Nigerians to join the protests in large numbers, saying that only active citizen participation can hold leaders accountable.
Symfoni reports that on the Day 2 of the Protest which was on Monday, Mr. Peter Obi was also at the protest ground to join the protest for Mandatory Real Time electronic transfer of election result and also encourage the protesters. Amaechi who is now with the African Democratic Party (ADC) is reportedly eyeing the presidency ticket in the party just like Obi.
