The Federal Government has advised those calling for a regime change to wait till the 2027 presidential election.
The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, stated this on Tuesday while addressing State House correspondents after the inaugural Council of State meeting under President Bola Tinubu.
Alake said the hunger protest held recently was a movement to effect a change of regime by force which was also resisted, adding that the council thanked Nigerians for resisting an unconstitutional move to change government.
He said, “Matters of state were discussed robustly, and the National Security Adviser was on hand to present the security situation of the country, and he did inform the Council of State about the pre-, during, and post-events of the last protest which I do not call a protest.
“I call it a movement to effect a change of regime by force which was also resisted. The council thanked Nigerians at large for resisting an unconstitutional move to change government. If anybody is not satisfied with the government, or the current administration, there is always an election coming, so you wait for the election and cast your vote.
“The NSA briefed the council on the security situation and laid it bare. So after the NSA briefing, he allayed everybody’s fears and spoke on the tightness of the security around the country and also reassured all that nobody will be allowed to truncate our hard-earned democracy.
“Any change of government has to be through the ballot and not through the barrel of the gun, or insurrection or any other unconstitutional means. Only through the ballot box can any government be changed and reassured of the security readiness of all security agencies in the country to secure our territorial integrity and to protect Nigerian’s democracy.”
Alake added that the presentations by seven ministers were to let the Council of State know the progress being made in each sector of the economy.
He said, “The agenda, is on economic diversification. And that’s why I was there. That’s why Agric was there. That’s why all the other ministers you know constitute, or the ministries that constitute, the plank of the Renewed Hope Agendas, economic diversification and transformation.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Governor’s Forum and Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, said the council also passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Tinubu.
He disclosed that after the Council of State meeting, the governors also met with the President in an executive session where another vote of confidence was passed in the president
He said, “Council members, especially those of the Nigerian Governor’s Forum, were satisfied with the presentation by the members of the Federal Executive Council, and after that meeting, there was an executive session between members of the Nigerian Governor’s Fprum and Mr President, and frank and fruitful discussions were held between both parties.
“I’m glad to say we’re on the right track. And to say in the same vein, members of the NGF also, like the members of the Council of State, passed a vote of confidence on Mr President. We also wish him well and pray for God and guidance for him.”