The organisers of the upcoming hunger protest in Abuja have informed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that there is nothing that will prevent them from accessing Eagle Square.
Remember that the Take It Back Movement had written to the minister asking for the use of Eagle Square for its August 1 protest, as well as the provision of security and utilities for the length of the protest.
On Friday, the group’s Director of Mobilisation, Damilare Adenola, signed a petition stating that the minister must “ensure the provision of a 24-hour power supply, toilet facilities, water, and security for the convenience of Nigerian citizens who will be camped out at Eagle Square” during the period of the protest.
However, the minister warned that demonstrators wishing to utilise Eagle Square must apply correctly and pay security fees for their planned protest in the FCT.
During a town hall meeting conducted on Saturday in the conference room of the Federal Capital Development Authority in Abuja, Wike stated that the group had only applied through social media and television interviews.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Adenola stated that Wike had no choice but to let “hungry Nigerian youths” utilise the facilities for the demonstration.
He blamed the letter’s delivery delay on government bureaucracy, claiming that Wike would always receive the letter on Monday, before the rally began on Thursday.
Adenola claimed that Eagle Square is public property and that the minister should not expect the demonstrators, who are young, to pay the high sum he is requesting.
He said, “It is possible that the receipt of the letter is being delayed by most likely bureaucracy in government or the minister is likely being insincere about receiving the letter.
“If he (Wike) insists that he hasn’t received it, the alternative is that he was served by publication because many Nigerian ministries streamline what to receive or not. If he says he didn’t get it physically, then we could as well say that he was served by publication.
“If he says he wants it by Monday, we will serve him. The truth is that Eagle Square is a public property. When I saw the video of the minister, I was amazed because I saw the minister asking us to pay rent, pay security fees, and all that.
“My question to the minister is this: how does the minister expect a greater population of Nigerian youths who are impoverished, who have no jobs to afford to exorbitant he is expecting us to pay? We are going to be at the Eagle Square on August 1st.”
Furthermore, Adenola said that his organisation’s bank account had been stopped on orders from the Department of State Services. He said that the bank had yet to respond to the group’s letters.
“The account of the TIB was arbitrarily blocked by UBA allegedly on the orders of the DSS,” he said.
