The federal government has warned politicians against linking stampedes that occurred during food distributions in Oyo, Anambra and Abuja to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms.
Grassroots Parrot had reported how the Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, had blamed the stampedes on the systemic failures in Nigeria amid widespread hardship in the country.
Also, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the recent stampedes in some parts of the country are “evidence of the misery, poverty, and hunger” that Nigerians are struggling with under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement on Sunday, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP spokesperson, said it is heartbreaking to see Nigerians die struggling for food, despite the country’s abundant resources.
Ologunagba accused the Tinubu-led administration of disregarding human life, noting that the federal government could have introduced intervention programmes to ease the suffering of the masses.
But the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who gave the warning on Sunday, said the tragedies underscored the importance of ensuring proper crowd management during such charitable activities, especially in the festive season.
Idris, in a statement signed by his media Senior Special Assistant, Rabiu Ibrahim, however sympathised with the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic incidents which claimed over 70 lives, including about 40 children.
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The minister 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 noted 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 also 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.
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“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.