The council of state has thanked Nigerians for resisting “unconstitutional” plot to remove the government of President Bola Tinubu, during the #EndBadGovernance protest across the country.
The council also passed a vote of confidence on the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The council met on Tuesday, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The meeting was the first since Tinubu became Nigerian president on May 29, 2023.
The council of state whose membership includes former presidents and heads of state, is an organ of the Federal Government saddled with advising the executive on policymaking.
Former presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari attended the meeting physically, while former heads of state, Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar, joined virtually.
Speaking with journalists at the end of the meeting, Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals, said Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA), presented the security situation of the country.
Alake said the NSA briefed the council about the events surrounding the just concluded #EndBadGovernance protests.
The minister said the council commended Nigerians for “resisting any unconstitutional move to change government” during the protests.
“Of course, at the end of it, matters of state were discussed in a robust and frank manner. And the national security adviser was also on hand to present the security situation of the country,” the minister said.
“The national security adviser was also on hand to present the security situation of the country. And he did inform the council of state about the pre, during, and post-event of the last protests, 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 any unconstitutional move to change the government; if anybody is not satisfied with the government, there is always an election coming, so you wait for the election and cast your vote.
“So the NSA briefed the Council on the security situations and allayed fears all round.
“So after the NSA’s briefing, generally, he allayed everybody’s fears and spoke on the tightness of the security around the country, and also reassured all and sundry that nobody will be allowed to truncate our hard-earned democracy.
“Any change of government has to be through the ballots and not through the barrel of the gun or through insurrection or through any other unconstitutional means; only through the ballot box can any government be changed.
“He reassured the readiness of all security agencies in the country to secure our territorial integrity and to protect Nigeria’s democracy.”
Also speaking, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahman, governor of Kwara and chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), told State House correspondents that the council passed a vote of confidence in the president.
“The high note of the meeting was a unanimous passage of a vote of confidence on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, Commander in Chief of the Nigerian armed forces,” he said.
“Members, especially those of the Nigerian Governors’ 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 Governors’ forum 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.”
