By Francesca Hangeior
Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, has emphasised that Nigerians have the constitutional right to peaceful protest, and no one can deny them this right.
In an interview on TVC’s “Politics on Sunday” on July 28, Ngelale stated, “There is nobody within our administration that has the standing, the command, or the gravitas to tell Nigerians that they cannot peacefully protest and that they cannot peacefully protest in any part of the country.
“We are not in office to dominate our people, we are in office to serve our people. And this is the position of the president.
“President Bola Tinubu has been very clear that the notion of peaceful protest is a central component of an effective function in democracy.”
Ngelale further emphasised, “Anyone who disagrees with the notion from inside the government, the notion that we are here to serve our people and not dominate them, they are lining up themselves against the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who will defend the right of Nigerians to peaceful protest in any part of the country. And we want to be very unequivocal about that.”