Some angry youths in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, have destroyed billboards erected to welcome President Bola Tinubu to the state for the launch of the Yobe Agricultural Empowerment Programme.
On Saturday, Vice President Kashim Shettima represented President Tinubu at the launch of the program in Damaturu.
According to the president’s representative, the program is at the heart of his administration’s ongoing efforts to enhance food security, create jobs, and diversify Nigeria’s economy through agriculture.
The president stressed the critical role of agriculture in national development and security, saying “food is the heart of security in every society.”
“It is the foundation upon which we build our health, our well-being, and our economic stability. There’s no way we are going to achieve our grand goals as a government, whether at the state or national level, until we support and empower our farmers,” he added.
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However, after the launch, youths in the state, in a now viral clip of 1 minute and 5 seconds, could be seen climbing one of the billboards, which had photos of President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, and Governor Mai Buni.
“Thank you, Mr. President. Have a safe trip,” was boldly written on the billboard.
The angry youths vandalized it and tore out the banner with the message.
States across the federation have been unsettled by the ongoing plan by some faceless Nigerian youths to begin a 10-day nationwide hunger and hardship protest to draw the federal and state governments’ attention to the worsening plight of the citizens.
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According to the rally organizers, “this hunger is too much.”
On Thursday, the federal government confirmed knowledge of the hunger rally plan when it said the “identities of many of the brains behind the protest are known, along with their collaborators who are safely residing abroad, and the government is taking necessary actions to stop their subversive plans.”
Lanre Issa Onilu, director-general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), said in a statement that the agency’s nationwide structure had identified the sponsors of the proposed protest and likely flashpoints.
Daily Trust