The Minister of State for Youths Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, has urged the youths to dissociate themselves from the proposed nationwide protest, saying President Bola Tinubu was open to dialogue.

Olawande said this in Lagos on Saturday at the commemoration of the third year in office of the Chairman, Kosofe Local Government, Moyosore Ogunlewe.

The minister acknowledged the challenges being faced by Nigerians but expressed confidence in the president’s commitment to tackle them, being a listening person.

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He said: “The president is not afraid of protest but he is ready to dialogue with anybody without intimidation because we have a listening president.

“He’s a president that listens to the people; a president that listens to the elders and the people at the grassroots.

“It is just that there is nothing that comes good that is easy, and there is no country in the world that will remove subsidy that they will not face a tougher time.

“This is why I am telling the Nigerian youths not to follow trends; don’t follow people who think the best thing for them is to turn everything politically.”

Olawande says Nigerians have a president who neither has a cabal nor dictators dictating to him against the youths.

He said the student loan to indigents was recently approved to ensure that no student would have to drop out of school on account of inability to pay school fees.

The minister of state said the president had also ensured local government autonomy so that the dividends of democracy would equally reach the grassroots.

He said while the government was aware of the hardship, it needed time because the country had already been put in reverse gear by previous administrations.

“If you are driving in reverse gear, the car will be driving back, but the president is now putting it in neutral, and from neutral, it will enter the drive.

“I can tell you that before the four years of this government, nobody in this country will not be happy that we have a legend who has done it before in Lagos and he is doing it again in Nigeria,” he said.

Olawande, however, appealed to the youths and all not to allow themselves to be used to cause chaos in the country.

BRANDPOWER reports that reactions have continued to trail the planned nationwide protest scheduled to start on Thursday.