President Bola Tinubu has responded to increasing demands for him to address the nation amid widespread #EndBadGovernance protests, which entered their third day on Saturday. The former Lagos governor, who has been the focus of rallies against economic hardship and high living costs across Nigeria’s 36 states and the capital Abuja, will speak to over 200 million citizens on Sunday, August 4, 2024, at 7:00 am, according to his spokesman Ajuri Ngelale.
“Television, radio, and other electronic media outlets are enjoined to plug into the network services of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) for the broadcast,” Ngelale said. “The broadcast will be repeated on the network services of the NTA and the FRCN at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm on the same day.” Since the protests began on Thursday, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), along with Tinubu’s rivals from the last election, ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, have urged him to address the defiant youths protesting the country’s economic struggles and hardships.
Food prices and basic commodities have surged in recent months as Nigerians endure one of the nation’s worst inflation rates and economic crises, sparked by the government’s removal of the petrol subsidy and unification of forex windows. Propelled by social media, the #EndBadGovernance protests against economic hardship, planned for ten days, entered their third day on Saturday as determined youths continued to insist that Tinubu meet their demands.
The protesters’ demands include the restoration of petrol subsidies and the previous forex regime, addressing food shortages and unemployment, and curbing wasteful government spending. They also call for reducing the President’s cabinet and general governance costs, immediate reforms of the electoral body INEC and the anti-corruption agency EFCC, and renewed efforts against corrupt politicians. The protests turned violent in Kano, Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, Jigawa, Nasarawa, and other states, where opportunistic hoodlums burned vehicles, looted warehouses, and private stores. Police reported seven deaths related to the protests but denied that security agents were responsible.
On Day 3, police continued dispersing protesters with tear gas, drawing condemnation from civil society organizations.