The Presidency last night reacted to the protest by Concerned APC National Stakeholders (CANS) who called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack some of his trusted allies described as “cabal). Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu described what happened as a “sponsored protest”.
“You are going to see more of such sponsored protests. In one of the hotels here in the federal capital, there is a shop that sells packages of protests. At a given fee, they will write the protest speech, the placards and give you the marchers, men, and women as well as the lead speaker who in many cases is a lawyer.
“So we are not surprised at all. Very soon, reporters and photographers will be buying this service to attack editors they don’t like.
“One thing to note is that this President is not the kind that can be swayed by this chicanery. He has a mind of his own and he alone will decide who he will work with and who he will send away. In effect, this demonstration will change nothing,” he said.
On Monday, the stakeholders under the aegis of APC concerned national stakeholders forum defied the rain and gathered at the Defence headquarters. They displayed placards with various inscriptions to make their demands known.
Part of their demands is that President Muhammadu Buhari should ensure that he appoints people who worked for him in various capacity during the 2019 general elections as he forms his cabinet.
The stakeholders also said President Buhari should not appoint people who have stayed in government for over 40 years.
They stressed that the nation is in dire need of fresh ideas.
“By now, we expect that a real cabinet and primary appointment independently formed by the President based on merit and constitutional criteria would have been made public.
“This is the time for compensation but now it has gone back to the old ways where a few people take the compensation to themselves and their cronies,” Symeon Chilagorom, who led the protesters said.
The group also decried the delay in President Buhari’s appointment of his new cabinet, alleging that the delay could give some political influencers to handpick their allies for the appointment, leaving behind those who risked their necks to ensure President Buhari’s victory at the 2019 elections.
