President Bola Tinubu on Monday cancelled the Federal Executive Council meeting and opted to meet with senior security officials as nationwide protests over the country’s economic challenges enter day five.

It was learnt that the cancellation was not duly communicated as ministers and other key members of Mr Tinubu’s cabinet already converged on the meeting venue of the Council Chambers before learning of the new development.

Ministers were observed departing the Chambers at about 12:30 p.m. according to Business Day.

Stakeholders have noted that Mr Tinubu’s Sunday broadcast failed to address key demands of the protesters calling for a reduction of electricity tariffs and fuel price to reflect current economic challenges.

The President in the speech also failed to call security agents who fired live rounds at journalists and unarmed protesters to order; his silence drew criticism from Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka.

Though Mr Tinubu asked Nigerians to suspend the protests, his failure to address any of the demands infuriated demonstrators who continued hunger demonstrations across several states including Lagos and Kano. 

The protests appeared to gather momentum as residents of states such as Ondo took to the streets on Monday to protest against the current leadership.