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Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has warned the Federal Government against any attempt to arrest the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, over his planned strike against bad governance in the country.
He was reacting to the recent spat between the former governor of Anambra state and one of the presidential spokespersons, Bayo Onanuga, over the planned #EndBadGovernance protests scheduled to begin across the country on August 1.
Onanuga in a statement last week alleged that the protest organised by some unidentified persons to express their dissatisfaction over various problems facing the country was sponsored by Obi and his supporters.
Lawal, who spoke to reporters on Thursday in Abuja, also warned the government against using force against protesters.
He said: “Bola Tinubu should not use a heavy-handed approach against the protesters. They mean well for the country. If they come out to the streets to protest and there is an attempt to stop them with violence, it will be a trigger for chaos.
“Tinubu should remove Bayo Onanuga from office because he does not mean well for his government. His outbursts anger Nigerians instead of calming them. When you are in government, you cannot insult the people.
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“I don’t know if Onanuga was the spokesperson for the Motor Park Street Vendors Association before he got his current position. They say he’s educated, but it doesn’t come across in his behavior. He has a deep disrespect for people, and it comes across in the way he talks.
“I don’t expect the presidential spokesman to come out and say that the planned protest was organised by Peter Obi. If Obi had the character that Onanuga is saying, this government would have collapsed a long time ago.
“How can you say Obi had anything to do with the protest? Obi wouldn’t even let you accompany him to complain.
“That’s one of the reasons why some of us stay away from him. When you insult him, he doesn’t retaliate. He does his own thing.
“Let them arrest him if that is their plan and see the consequences. I know that is what Onanuga is trying to do. Whoever asked Tinubu to arrest Peter Obi did not mean him any good. It is like they took cyanide with their own hands and swallowed it.
“I don’t know what Onanuga’s problem is with the Igbo. The Igbo are good people. They were our classmates from primary and secondary school to university. They were our business partners; they were our neighbors.”
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