Kogi Govt urges citizens to shun calls for protests against FG

By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja

KOGI State government has called on people of the state to subscribe to the Not-In-My-State Movement Against Violent Protests and shun any form of violent protests against the Federal Government.

Mr Kingsley Femi Fanwo, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Lokoja enjoined all well-meaning citizens to join hands with the government to revamp the economy.

“As responsible citizens, there is a need to queue behind the efforts of the government at all levels to frontally deal with the issues challenging our well-being”, he said.

Fanwo condemned the planned protests against the Federal Government said it is ill-conceived adding that it would have been proper if Government was not making efforts or that the efforts were not bearing fruits.

“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”, he said.

The Commissioner reiterated the state government’s resolve to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his quest to get the country’s battered economy back in shape and rekindle the hope of the common man.

“The Government of Kogi State wishes to state clearly that it is totally in solidarity with efforts at the centre and sub-national levels to put the economy of our dear nation on the right track.

“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”, he said.

The Commissioner said that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s administration was completely committed to ensuring that the central efforts percolate into the state.

“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 is working hard to correct”, he said.

Fanwo hinted that credible intelligence had pointed undoubtedly to the desperation of certain opposition figures to unsettle the nation and “stop our march to recovery and prosperity.

“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.

“It is heartwarming that we have received reports that our citizens are ready to march in solidarity with Mr. 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.

Fanwo hinted that Governor Ododo had directed the State Ministry of Information and Communications to embark on sensitization to keep the people informed about what Government is doing at all levels.

He noted that Protests would not crash the prices of food, but intentional investments in agriculture like the he state is doing at the moment, will.

“We urge parents and guardians to give the right orientation to their wards. Nigeria cannot afford another violent destruction of public infrastructure in the name of protests”, he said. (Ends)