We are not in support of violent protests – Kogi Govt

The Kogi state government says it is not in support of any planned nationwide protest over the current economic hardship in Nigeria.

According to reports, some youths are planning a nationwide protest between August 1 and 15 against the rising cost of living and economic hardship in the country.

In a statement on Sunday, Kogi commissioner for information and communication, Kingsley Fanwo, said the state government is in solidarity with the efforts of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to fix the economy.

Fanwo said: “The President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR is working assiduously to get the nation’s economy working again.

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“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 administration of Alh. Ahmed Usman Ododo in Kogi State is completely committed 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 is working hard to correct.

“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.

“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.”

The commissioner said intelligence reports have allegedly linked the protest with “opposition figures”.

“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,” he said.