The President General of the Global Peace Movement International, Dr. Mike Uyi, has come to the defense of Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, refuting claims that he made the controversial “Protest while we sit, eat at home” comment that has gone viral on social media and various traditional media outlets.
In a press briefing held in Benin City on Tuesday, Dr. Uyi clarified that the comment, which has sparked widespread outrage, was not originally made by Senator Akpabio. Instead, Uyi explained that the statement was first uttered by the Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during a recent event in the Niger Delta.
Akpabio, he noted, merely re-emphasized the statement while addressing participants at the programme.
“I was in the Niger Delta two weeks ago during the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest when the NDDC chairman addressed the people,” Dr. Uyi recounted.
He explained that the Chairman assured the youths that the government would continue to support them with a monthly allowance of N50,000 as part of ongoing amnesty efforts, urging them to refrain from participating in the protest.
“The NDDC chairman said, and I quote, ‘Let those who want to protest, let them be protesting, and while they are protesting, we will be eating,’” Uyi stated, adding that he has reviewed the video of the event multiple times to confirm this. He said that Akpabio only repeated this statement during his address and did not originate it.
Dr. Uyi also expressed his support for the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest but condemned efforts to malign the Senate President by misattributing the controversial remark to him.
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