Abuja, Nigeria
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has cautioned politicians against attributing the stampedes during food distributions in Oyo, Anambra, and Abuja to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms.
He expressed his condolences to the families of the over 70 victims, including about 40 children, who lost their lives in these tragic incidents.
Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general elections, had attributed the stampedes to systemic failures in Nigeria amid widespread hardship. In a statement signed by his media Senior Special Assistant, Rabiu Ibrahim, the minister emphasized the importance of proper crowd management during charitable activities, especially during the festive season.
Idris acknowledged the noble intentions of organizers seeking to provide relief to vulnerable members of society.
He urged all individuals and organizations planning similar events to comply with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on liaising with police formations for effective crowd control and security measures.
He stressed 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 politicizing these unfortunate incidents, emphasizing that they 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.
