The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of deploying fictitious groups to undermine the upcoming #EndBadGovernance protests. In an interview with ARISE TV, CISLAC Executive Director Auwal Musa Rafsanjani alleged that the federal government is wasting public funds on mobilizing and recruiting anonymous groups to publicly withdraw support from the planned demonstrations.
Rafsanjani criticized the government’s approach, arguing that genuine concerns over governance and public suffering are driving the protests, rather than a lack of adequate responses from the administration. He emphasized that if President Tinubu’s government had effectively addressed the pressing issues facing Nigerians, there would be less impetus for such protests.
“The government’s actions seem to be an attempt to distract and delegitimize the protests rather than addressing the core issues,” Rafsanjani said. He further noted that the president’s own acknowledgment of his past involvement in protests as a form of advocacy undermines arguments against the legality or moral appropriateness of the current demonstrations. 
Rafsanjani called for the government to focus on creating tangible policies and frameworks to alleviate the hardships faced by Nigerians, suggesting that real engagement with citizens’ concerns would be a more effective response than attempts to discredit the protests.
