Kogi Govt will not tolerate breach of peace – Official

Fri, Sep 21, 2018 | By publisher


Politics

Retired Cdr. Jerry Omodara, Adviser to the Kogi Governor on Security Matters, says the state government will not tolerate the breach of peace by any group or person in the state.

Omodara gave the warning in Lokoja on Friday at the event to mark the World Peace Day organised by ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) in collaboration with Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID).

He also pledged that the state government will not sponsor youth as political thugs in the state ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Omodara called on the people to continue to sustain the existing peace in the state, saying that the government had retrieved illegally acquired weapons from their owners and provided the culprits with education.

He further said that the government had keyed into the various policies of the Federal Government by empowering the youths of the state to live fulfilled lives.

The security adviser emphasised that conducting credible elections is the responsibility of all, saying that the government was already engaging relevant stakeholders in its endeavour to hold successful elections in the state.

According to him, 2019 general election is a very serious business for Nigeria, adding that without peace there cannot be elections.

“Without peace, we cannot have those that will govern the country and the state.

“Therefore, we are engaging stakeholders, traditional rulers, community leaders, religious leaders and every security agency. We bring them together in order to have a roadmap to what it should be.

“INEC has the rules and regulations for election and we must follow them. On our own part and as a state, we are not going to engage in any violence.

“We are not going to use any youth as thug, and therefore, we will call on political parties in Kogi to stay by the rules as provided by INEC,’’ he said.

In her remarks, Ms Safiyah Ahmed, Peace Ambassador and Administrator, World Institute for Peace, Kogi State Chapter, stressed the need for youths to be meaningfully engaged so as to avoid being used as touts and thugs.

Ahmed also emphasised the need for the youths to acquire vocational training or any other skills that will remove them from criminal activities and streets.

She noted that a society that involved its youth in meaningful enterprises would develop economically and politically.

She, therefore, called on the youths to take their studies serious, take part in legitimate businesses and resist the temptation to be used by politicians for their selfish purposes.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the International Peace Day is observed on Sept. 21 and devoted to the ideals of peace both within and among all nations.

Participants in the event carried placards with inscriptions such as`Peace is an attitude activated by Education’, `I have the right to peace’, Give me education, no give me gun’ for the celebration. (NAN)

– Sept. 21, 2018 @ 16:12 GMT |

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