The Government of Kogi State has called on the residents of the State not to take part in the planned nationwide protest by those it described as desperate opposition elements.
The State government pledged total solidarity with efforts at the centre and sub-national levels to put the nation’s economy on the right track.
In a statement today, July 21, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, asked the residents to queue behind the efforts of the government at all levels to frontally deal with the issues challenging the well-being of the country.
“A protest would have been proper if the Government was making no efforts. Protests would have been popular if the efforts were not bearing fruits yet. Protests would have been understandable if we were not gradually moving out of the hopeless situation. But a protest at this point is an attack on the foundation of our rebuilding process and an attempt to throw the nation into the darkness orchestrated during the #EndSars destruction and carnage.
“It will be understood if the opposition feels disappointed that our economy is gradually retaining momentum and therefore would not offer them the opportunity to campaign against the ruling party using those parameters. But it is unacceptable and utterly unpatriotic to stoke violence at this period in the name of protest. The citizens have a right to protest but they do not owe the unpatriotic opposition elements, the window of violence.”
According to Kingsley Femi Fanwo, credible intelligence had pointed to the desperation of certain opposition figures to unsettle the nation and stop the march to recovery and prosperity.
“They are fanning the embers of war using protest as a smokescreen. It is our responsibility to stop these unpatriotic elements bent on manipulating the citizens to achieve their evil expectations.
“They are fanning the embers of war using protest as a smokescreen. It is our responsibility to stop these unpatriotic elements bent on manipulating the citizens to achieve their evil expectations.”
He drew attention to the fact that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been working assiduously to get the nation’s economy working again.
“Apart from the fiscal and monetary policies that are already yielding positive results, the Federal Government has injected economic stimulating incentives to address the challenges we are facing in the short, medium and long-term.
“Agriculture, industrialization, infrastructure, education and healthcare are receiving due attention from the Federal Government.”
The Commissioner said that on his part, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has so far shown total commitment to ensuring the central efforts percolate into the state “as we have begun massive investments in agriculture, education, healthcare and infrastructure.
“We have also continued to support homes across the state with palliatives to cushion the effects of the economic hardship occasioned by decades of mismanagement that the Tinubu Administration.”
The Commissioner however expressed happiness that the residents of the State have shown their readiness to march in solidarity with the President’s efforts at defending the economic interests of the poor.
“We are proud of the fact that the people of Kogi have refused to yield the state to the macabre dance of agents of destabilization.
“In furtherance of the efforts of the Government of Kogi State to deepen patriotic orientation in our dear State, the Chief Servant of Kogi State has directed the State Ministry of Information and Communications to step up sensitization efforts aimed at keeping the people informed about what Government is doing at all levels.
“The administration of His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, has also expressed its commitment to investing in cushioning the impact of the economic challenges, promoting industrialization to enable young people to get jobs, prioritizing agriculture to crash the prices of food in the State and the nation as well as other measures to improve the standards of living in the state.
The Commissioner however urged parents and guardians to give the right orientation to their wards, saying that Nigeria cannot afford another violent destruction of public infrastructure in the name of protests.
