The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has sympathised with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the tragic stampedes that occurred during food distribution exercises in Ibadan, Abuja, and Okija.
In a press release that he issued today, Rabiu Ibrahim, the minister’s Special Assistant on Media, quoted Idris as saying, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and all those affected by these unfortunate incident.”
The minister said the tragedies were deeply saddening and underscored the importance of ensuring proper crowd management during such charitable activities, especially during the festive season.
While acknowledging the noble intentions of organisers seeking to bring relief to vulnerable members of society, the minister strongly 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) is 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, are designed to uplift the lives of all Nigerians, particularly the vulnerable without causing distress.
The minister called for a collective sense of responsibility and urged citizens to unite and ensure that the Yuletide season is marked by peace, goodwill, and joy, devoid of preventable tragedies.
