From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Protesters of #EndBadGovernance were infuriated when the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, offered them money for “pure water” at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Thursday.
The youths, who braved a downpour, had earlier ignored his appeal on Wednesday to shelve the planned protest when he met with selected leaders of various organisations in the state.
Governor Fubara addressed the protesters in front of Government House, Port Harcourt, thanking them for their peaceful demonstration.
Fubara assured them that he would deliver their demands to the presidency, promising that the state government would do its best to ensure the dividends of good governance are delivered to Rivers residents.
He said, “So, like I said before, I want to thank you for being peaceful. I already know your problems; we will communicate them to the Federal Government.
“But, you see, this particular protest that you are doing now, our only worry is that we know a lot of people are planning to take advantage of this protest to destroy our State. But, we will not allow it.
“Like I said, it is not easy, but we know quite alright that very soon, everything will be well. Starting from our own State, everything will be well. What we just need is for you to support the government and its policies. Implementing policies, at the beginning, it must be harsh, but at the end, everything will be fine.”
Read also: Kogi residents shun national protest, attend state youth summit
Governor Fubara said his administration would stick to the tenets of good governance, take decisive actions to address the growing economic hardship in the state, and ensure that life is easier for the people.
He explained, “But, like I said yesterday, I am one of you. I feel your pain, and in our government here, we are doing everything to make life easy for our people.
“We are going to make sure that we make life easy for you. Our youths, I agree with you that there is hunger, but because we preach good governance, we are committed to making hunger disappear very soon.”
He insisted that his administration would support the youths and genuinely work for their well-being but warned that it would not tolerate anyone using the protest to cause anarchy.
The governor stated, “I am not against your protest; but, we will not support any violent protest. We will not support anything that will destroy our State. We will not join forces with the enemy of progress (to destabilise our State).
“I know, maybe, some elements have taken it upon themselves to want to make governance difficult in our State, penetrating through this means to create additional problems. We won’t allow it.
“The initial policies, at the centre, might not be friendly, but at the end of it, if we are patient and tolerant, there is no way the policies will not yield positive results and development for our State.
“Here in Rivers State, we will do everything to make life better. But, all we need from you is to support the Federal Government. We know there is hunger; but just be patient with the government.
“I will give you a small thing for you to drink pure water.”
At that moment, the youths erupted in anger, shouting, “No, no; we don’t need it. Keep your money. We want good governance in Nigeria! Tinubu must go!”
The governor could not pacify the protesters to explain what he meant, as they angrily shouted him down.