Following the hunger protest in the country, the minister of state for health and social welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has pleaded with Nigerians to be patient with President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, while blaming the past administration for the present social-economic challenges in the country.

The minister, who made the appeal in a video on his X handle on Thursday, said the ongoing protest is citizens' engagement with the government, as long as citizens keep the protest peaceful.

He said that the protest is a reflection of the fact that President Tinubu is a president who wants democracy to flourish in the country.

President Tinubu wants democracy to flourish in our country. What you are seeing on the streets today is the reflection of that - citizen engagement with the government as long as citizens keep the protest peaceful; that is what we want.

"But a lot of the complaints that protesters are complaining about today happened some eight, 16 years ago: So the cumulative effect of that is what we are seeing now," he said.

Dr Alausa argued that the country's economic indicators are better now compared to how they were, and that the prices of food are also getting better, adding that President Tinubu was handling the problem in a comprehensive manner aimed at achieving sustainability.

"And this president came in, started tackling all the problems head-on, and we are seeing the result. Our microeconomic indicators are getting better. Our global rating is much better, even the prices of food are getting better.

"People should just be patient with the president; things will continue to get better day after day, week after week, and month after month. Our country is in the right direction. The president is taking us on the part of sustainability.

"The way the president is going, he is tackling this problem comprehensively and robustly that would put us on the part of sustainability decades from now, that our unborn children will be proud of us," he said.