Nasarawa governor, Abdullahi Sule, says majority of the #EndBadGovernance protesters in his state were almajiri children who were ignorant of the reason for the nationwide protest over economic hardships under President Bola Tinubu’s watch.

Mr Sule, in an interview with Channel TV on Thursday, said almajiri children dominated the protest in Lafia, Nasarawa state capital, when asked if the massive hordes of protesters who hit the streets in Northern states against warning from clerics could intensify calls for accountability and transparency from leaders in the region.

“During this last protest we had in Lafia, majority of those that came out on the streets were the almajiris. Some of them five, seven, nine years old. Alot of them didn’t even understand the meaning of the protest. When I spoke with them later they didn’t even understand what they were protesting against,” Mr Sule said.

The governor expressed concern that the increasing number of abandoned almajiri children on the streets poses a potential threat to the entire region if governors fail to take urgent action.

Citing past efforts to curb almajiri practice, Mr Sule said, “At one point in 2020, we sat down as governor and took a decision about almajiris. But it didn’t work out well.

He added “Some of the religious leaders even criticised it. But from what happened now I don’t believe anybody will continue to criticise actions that will be taken in order to move forward. Otherwise, it is a ticking time bomb, it will come and consume everybody.”

Nationwide protests over economic hardships worsened by spiking food prices saw thousands of Nigerians hit the streets demanding that the Nigerian government reverse fuel subsidy removal and tackle spiking food prices, amongst others.

In the northern states, massive crowds hit the streets, defying curfew in some states to vent their displeasure over the cost of living crisis in the country under Mr Tinubu.