Your Speech On Protest Very Annoying, Return Fuel Subsidy - Kenneth Okonkwo Tells President Tinubu

Kenneth Okonkwo

Veteran actor and politician, Kenneth Okonkwo has slammed President Tinubu over his nationwide broadcast regarding the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protests.

Recall that President Tinubu addressed Nigerians on Sunday following the events of demonstrations across states over the increasing cost of commodities and hardship in the country.

However, Okonkwo, a former spokesman for the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council in 2023, said it would have been better if the President did not make such address, which according to him, is ‘bad’.

He also advised Tinubu to sack his media aides for letting his speech leak out a day before the nationwide broadcast.

“The people are protesting for hunger and hardship, deprivation and degradation. And the president was compelled to speak,” Okonkwo said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.

He added: “I wish they did not compel him. If I were a media aide, I would have preferred there was no speech at all because bad speech is worse than no speech at all.

“In addition to the speech being empty and very annoying, it was even leaked before the day.”

Okonkwo asserted that President Tinubu failed to address any of the protesters’ demands. He emphasized the importance of protest in a democratic society while denouncing the violent actions of a minority.

He argued that the President ought to have streamlined his cabinet and reconsidered the decision to acquire a new presidential jet.

Okonkwo contended that rather than removing the petrol subsidy and replacing it with inadequate palliatives, the government should reinstate subsidies on petrol and electricity tariffs, as he believes that “subsidy itself is a palliative.”

He further stated that the current administration has diminished the standard of living for Nigerians and should focus on enhancing productivity by fostering a conducive business environment.