Actress and politician Tonto Dikeh has penned an open letter to Nigerian youths, calling for a peaceful protest and urging the federal and state governments to address their plight.
Tonto, deputy governorship candidate under the African Democratic Congress in the 2023 Rivers State governorship election, stated this in a post on Instagram on Thursday, following backlash from some persons for supporting President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“My heart goes out to the entire nation on a day like this. We have come a long way from where we started. The sadness associated with the travails of the average individual cannot be overemphasised,” she wrote.
“My heart goes out to everyone in a position where he or she cannot put food on the table for themselves or their families at this time and have to cry out in protest for their voices to be heard.”
The actress, who joined the All Progressives Congress last October, continued, “Please know that your voices have been heard and your position noted with the nationwide protest achieving its goals by adherence.
“The nationwide protest became a national discussion because the leadership in the centre, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR @officialasiwajubat, is a leader who means well for grassroots development, youth empowerment, and inclusion. He feels the pain and anguish of the average man.
“I hereby call for peaceful co-existence, peaceful protest, and dialogue. I also charge the Federal and State government to attend to the plights of Nigerians especially the youth.”
Her statement comes after she faced criticism for supporting Tinubu and sharing a picture of statistics since the president came into power.
In a following post, she told her fans they are free to block and unfollow her.
Her post comes as Nigerians embark on the scheduled 10-day protest against bad governance.
