A former vice chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the north-west, Salihu Lukman, said it is dishonest of the ruling party to blame the opposition for the recent protests in Niger and Kano states.
Lukman made this assertion in a statement on Wednesday.
Recall that on Monday, protests over the rising cost of living and food inflation disrupted commercial activities and compounded traffic in both states.
Following the protests, the spokesperson of the APC, Felix Morka, accused opposition political parties of sponsoring the protests.
But Lukman said the ruling party is no longer pretending to be progressive. He said, “The protests in Minna and Kano confirm the validity of the concerns raised as far back as August 2023.
“Sadly, six months after those concerns were raised, the situation is only getting worse as the prices of food items are beyond the reach of most Nigerians.
“If the truth must be told, there is hunger in the land! As a committed member of the APC, it is very depressing that this is happening under the leadership of our party.
“Even more depressing was the statement issued by Mr. Felix Morka, our National Publicity Secretary, alleging that opposition parties are behind the protests.
“For Mr. Morka to issue such a very dishonest statement points to only one thing: that the leadership of our party has completely lost it, and at this rate, their political utility value is zero.