The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has warned politicians against linking stampedes that occurred during food distributions in Oyo, Anambra and Abuja to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms.
In a statement signed by his media Senior Special Assistant, Rabiu Ibrahim, the Minister said the tragedies underscored the importance of ensuring proper crowd management during such charitable activities, especially in the festive season.
He acknowledged the noble intentions of organisers seeking to bring relief to vulnerable members of society and admonished all individuals and organisations planning similar events to comply with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun on liaising with the police formations for effective crowd control and security measures.
He emphasised that collaboration with the police and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) was crucial to safeguarding lives and ensuring that such efforts to assist those in need do not inadvertently lead to further distress.
Idris appealed to politicians and other stakeholders to refrain from politicising the unfortunate incidents, stressing that those tragic events were in no way connected to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s economic reforms.
“It is worth noting that similar unfortunate occurrences have been recorded in the past, before the current administration, as such, making any attempt to link these tragedies to the President’s reforms is unfounded and disingenuous” he said
Idris said the reforms, while repositioning the Nigerian economy for sustainable growth, were designed to uplift the lives of all Nigerians, particularly the vulnerable without causing distress.