The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has advised politicians to desist from politicizing the tragic stampedes during food distribution exercises in Ibadan, Abuja, and Okija.
He argued that similar occurrences were recorded during past administrations, stressing it should not be linked to President Bola Tinubu’s reforms.
The Minister, however, sympathised with the families of the deceased, adding that the incidents show the importance of proper crowd management during such charitable activities.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and all those affected by these unfortunate incidents,” the minister said.
While acknowledging the noble intentions of organizers seeking to relieve vulnerable members of society, the minister admonished 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 emphasized 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.
“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.
He called for a collective sense of responsibility and urged citizens to unite to ensure that the Yuletide season is marked by peace, goodwill, and joy and free of preventable tragedies.
