Kogi govt distances self from planned anti-govt protest

The Kogi State government has announced its opposition to the planned nationwide protest against bad governance scheduled for August 1.

The state’s Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, said in a statement on Monday in Lokoja, that the people of the state would not participate in the protest.

He said the state fully supported the Federal Government’s efforts to revitalize the nation’s economy.

Fanwo praised President Bola Tinubu’s initiatives aimed at helping the poor and expressed pride in the state’s resistance to “agents of destabilization.”

He highlighted the progress made in various sectors, including agriculture, industrialization, infrastructure, education, and healthcare under the current administration.

Fanwo stressed the need for citizens to support the government’s efforts, saying the protests would only hinder the progress made so far.

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He said: “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 destabilisation.

“Agriculture, industrialisation, infrastructure, education and healthcare are receiving due attention from the Federal Government.

“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 fruit 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 likened the planned protest to an attempt to undermine the nation’s rebuilding process, drawing parallels with the destruction and chaos that ensued during the #ENDSARS protests of October 2020.

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