Kogi residents shun protest as over 3000 Youths attend summit in Lokoja
IDRIS AHMED Lokoja
As the nationwide protests against hunger and other unfavourable economic policies commences, residents mostly Youths across the state instead besieged Government House, Lokoja to attend a two days summit organized by the state Ministry of Youths and Sports in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Almost all the strategic areas in Lokoja, the state capital were peaceful, calm and without trace of any organized group pitting up or engaging in form of protest as is reported nationwide.
Hotspots such as Ganaja Junction, Government House Road, Paparanda square, Nataco junction , Ganaja Village among others where such crowd pulling activities take place were deserted, the presence of security agents.
The Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, local vigilantes, and Federal Road Safety Corps took over the areas in anticipation of the planned protest in the state.
Also most of the shops in Lokoja metropolis were under lock and key in the morning over fear of attack by protesters, but were no opened in the afternoon for business
Meanwhile, Kogi state Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, has admonished Youths in the state to shun shun the ongoing nationwide protests and instead engage in meaningful activities that will lead to progress and development.
Addressing over 3000 Youths pulled from the 21 local government areas of the state attending the summit organized by the Ministry of Youths and Sports, Ododo urged the Youths to be patriotic and embrace democratic and development tenets.
He enumerated several policies of the Tinubu administration that are about manifesting benefits to the people, including the Students loan scheme.
According to the Governor, the protests were organized just to give the present administration a bad name and that they have any ready solution to the myriads of problems inherited from the past administration’s since 1999.
Nationwide protests: Ododo urges Kogi Youths to resist being used to destabilize Nigeria
Ododo therefore appealed to the Nigerian Youths to get organized for the peaceful development of the country instead of the negative and retrogressive attitude of protests ,spearheaded by those who have failed in their bid to govern the Nigeria.
