Ebonyi residents shun hunger Protests as govt hails youths

Residents of Ebonyi State on Thursday shunned the ongoing planned nationwide hunger protests with the hashtag ‘#EndBadGovernance’.

A visit by a DAILY POST correspondent to some parts of the metropolis revealed that all the major roads were deserted.

Banks, markets, and the state Secretariat were also under lock and key.

The state governor, Francis Nwifuru and other prominent citizens of the state had on Wednesday during a youth stakeholders summit held at the Christian Ecumenical Centre in Abakiliki, warned residents against joining the protests.

Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State government has commended the people of the state for saying no to the nationwide protest over the growing hardship across the country.

This is contained in a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Jude Okpor and made available to newsmen.

The statement said the government particularly hailed the youths for listening to the voice of reason and refusing to be lured into the protest which he said could truncate the collective efforts towards bettering the pits of the people.

“The Government of Ebonyi State expresses gratitude for this act of patriotism on the part of our youths and considers it a great assurance of unwavering solidarity towards the collective actualisation of the laudable goals of the present administration as enshrined in the sacred pages of the Ebonyi People’s Charter of Needs, which is the guiding compass of Governor Nwifuru’s government.

“The youths, and indeed, all people of Ebonyi State are enjoined to continue to protect the peace and unity of Nigeria, extend the solidarity to the President, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and all the leaders of the country at all levels as we struggle together with patience, to navigate the nation back to the path of prosperity.

“The government seizes this opportunity, however, to remind Ebonyi people that the best approach to combating hunger in the land is to go back to our roots. Ebonyi is an agrarian state, renowned for its rich agricultural endowments. Being committed to Agriculture and taking it beyond subsistence levels is one of the surest ways of improving the economy of our dear state and the Nigerian nation in general.