A coalition of leaders from the North and South, on Wednesday, urged Nigerian youths and organizers of the planned anti-Tinubu nationwide protests to jettison the idea, expressing fears that it would be hijacked by hoodlums.

Noting that all over the world, no meaningful progress has ever been recorded through violent protests or otherwise, they urged President Bola Tinubu to address the nation and allay the fears of Nigerians on what the administration is doing to meet the demands tabled by the protesters.

The leaders who are members of Citizens Network for Peace and Development in Nigeria CNPDN, in a statement made available to journalists and signed by the National Coordinator, Mr. Raphael Okorie, on behalf of others, said the situation is not peculiar to Nigeria, as it is a global challenge.

They said the protest may be hijacked by hoodlums and other miscreants, who may turn the exercise into violent uprisings.

Part of the statement reads; “On planned nationwide protests, we have called on the conveners of the planned protests to stop it and that protests all over the world have never been used to solve a problem.

“The situation in Nigeria is not peculiar to Nigeria alone, and it is a global nature. We are using this medium to advise our teeming youth not to join in the protest because protests of this nature will naturally be hijacked by miscreants.

READ ALSO: Two feared dead over Ayedaade stool in Osun

READ ALSO: Refinery: Minister of Petroleum hosts crucial meeting with Dangote, NMDPRA, NUPRC, NNPC leadership

READ ALSO: Senate passes minimum wage bill from N30,000 to N70,000

“The real intentions will not be achieved. Again, we also want to call on Mr. President to address the nation if possible to calm frayed nerves, knowing that he has the best of intention for our dear country.”

Already, President Tinubu has pleaded with the organisers to shelve the protests and give his administration more time to execute people-oriented programmes.

There have been calls for a nationwide protests from August 1 over the rising cost of living and the economic hardship in the country, which has been blamed on the removal of fuel subsidy, the floating of the naira and other economic reforms implemented by the Tinubu administration.

The planned demonstration, inspired by the recent Kenya protests, has gained traction on social media, where it is trending under the hashtags ‘EndBadGovernance,’ ‘TinubuMustGo’ and ‘#Revolution2024.’