Following the allegation by one of President Bola Tinubu’s spokespersons, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, that Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election and his supporters were the ones planning the August 1 to 10 hardship protests, the Vice President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, has said that the presidential spokesman’s motive is to incite Nigerians against the Igbo.

Addressing reporters in Awka, Okeke-Ogene warned that Onanuga’s utterances were capable of undermining the country’s democracy and urged President Bola Tinubu to caution his aides seriously.

While calling on Igbo people not to join the planned protest, he urged them to protect their property wherever they reside because they might be the targets for attack during the protest.

The Ohaneze Vice President said: “Onanuga did it to give Igbo bad name. He specifically wants to incite other tribes to loot the property of Igbo people across the country if there is any protest.

“I am, therefore, calling on our people to be vigilant because they are victims of hatred. And it is time the President spoke to his aides to be cautious about their utterances because tension is very high in the country. We don’t want what is happening in Kenya to happen in Nigeria.”

He also spoke on the level of insecurity in the country, lamenting a situation where people, including security operatives, are being killed, with the government not doing much to stop it.

“Many Nigerians are dying because of insecurity which is not limited to any part of the country and if the government is not doing enough to end it, the impression people have is that the government is sponsoring it.

“Imagine situations where soldiers and policemen are being killed and nothing is being done,” he said.

He also urged President Tinubu to order the immediate release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, arguing that doing so would help reduce insecurity in the South East.