Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the All Progressives Congress (APC) is politicising the protest by Nigerians against the current economic hardship and worsening insecurity in the country.
On Monday, some residents of Minna, Niger state capital, blocked major roads in the city to protest the rising cost of living in the country.
There were also protests in Kano state and other parts of the country over the economic hardship being experienced by Nigerians.
While commenting on the protests, the APC claimed that opposition parties were instigating the protests to undermine the Bola Tinubu administration.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Debo Ologunagba, PDP spokesperson, said APC cannot threaten Nigerians from exercising their democratic and constitutional right to protest against the “agonising poverty, hunger, killings and other harrowing experiences”.
The opposition party said APC’s remark on the protests by Nigerians is “insensitive and relishes the life-discounting situation in the country”.
The PDP said the poverty rate in the country is rising noting that many Nigerians go to bed hungry.
“This approach by the APC, instead of listening to the people, is not only offensive but akin to pushing Nigerians to the wall and daring them to do their worst,” the statement reads.
“It is an assault on the sensibility of the people that rather than providing answers to how the Tinubu-led APC government in a space of nine months, turned the nation’s economy upside down leading to terrifying food scarcity and catastrophic high cost of living, the APC is seeking to label and clamp down on the suffering masses.”
The PDP alleged that more than 104 million citizens have “sunk deeper” into poverty due to policies of the government.
“Nigerians can no longer afford their daily meals with families now going to bed on empty stomachs as poverty rate soars to over 46%,” the party said.
“Any government that has an idea of macro-economic policy management ought to have recognized that the suffocating policies of abrupt increase in the pump price of petroleum products, high cost of electricity and arbitrary floating of the naira as executed by the Tinubu administration without due considerations, would have excruciating consequences to the economy as being witnessed today.
“Today, Nigerians are resorting to suicide while thousands of our promising youths are leaving the country in droves.”
The PDP also criticised Tinubu over the rising kidnappings across the country, saying he has failed to “show seriousness” on issues of security or empathy to victims “either by words or action”.
The Cable
