Charly Boy’s Occupy NASS Protest Causes Traffic Gridlock

Charly Boy and his co-protesters are calling for the prosecution of the judges accused of corruption, a downward review of salaries and benefits for politicians in the country.

The protesters are also demanding that people who are guilty of stealing public funds should be sentenced to death as well as a slash in the salaries of political office holders by about 70 per cent and a stop of state and local government joint accounts.

Vanguard investigations revealed that the principal officers and workers at the National Assembly are now using the State House villa entrance and that of the office of the Secretary to the Federal Government, SGF, to gain entrance to the complex.

Speaking in an interview, one of the protesters, Miss Joy Amadi said the protest was a welcome development, adding that the need for accountability in governance prompted her to join the protesters.

According to her, “Occupy NASS is a protest against corruption, political criminality and bad leadership. Just as the current government stands out to fight corruption, we also want to join hands with the agenda to make Nigeria a corrupt free nation.” She said that politicians over the years had extorted Nigerians of their right due to fat salaries and allowances they received.

Also speaking, another protester, Mr Ignatius Adeleke said they were committed to the protest until the leadership of the national assembly attended to their demands. He said, “We will not leave this place until our demands are met. We have suffered for too long while our politicians are living in affluence. We will not take it anymore, there has to be a change in our attitude.”

However, a National Assembly staff who preferred anonymity commended the conveners of the protest and urged more Nigerians to join the protest. He said, “I wish the conveners well and I am hopeful that we will have more Nigerians who will walk the talk and not just grumble on the street.”

Efforts made to get the reaction of the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Rep. Abdulrazak Namdas did not yield any results as he neither picked his calls nor replied them as at the time of filing this report.

Vanguard