Amnesty International Nigeria has condemned the remarks by Dapo Abiodun after the Ogun state governor said “Nigerians are sore losers.”
Abiodun said President Bola Tinubu majorly won the 2023 election and hinted that his political opponents craving for a change of government should tarry till the next general election in 2027.
Defending Tinubu, Abiodun stated that the current reality is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. But Amnesty International took exception to Abiodun’s remarks.
In a statement on Saturday morning, August 3, the human rights organisation lamented that reducing the ‘End Bad Governance’ protesters’ concerns on hunger and deep poverty to politics “is an unacceptable deliberate false insinuation”.
Amnesty International said:
“People are on the streets not for politics, as the governor insinuated mischievously, but demanding better life and accountability, as Nigeria’s annual inflation hits new 28-year high of 33.95% in May, worsening hardships that drive millions of people to the brink of starvation.
“Nigeria’s current economic chaos came with unprecedented inflation that triggers high cost of food, medicine and hike in electricity tariff and tuition fees of public universities. These are placing undue stress on families, businesses, and communities.
“Nigerian government officials and politicians must desist from harmful rhetorics aimed at delegitimizing peaceful protests and protesters. Instead they should listen to critics and pay more attention to improving the rapidly declining living standard of Nigerians.”
TheNGblog reports that Abiodun is currently trending on X, with many social media users criticising him.
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