The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, deeply sympathises 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.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and all those affected by these unfortunate incidents,” he said.

The Minister said the tragedies are deeply saddening and underscore the importance of ensuring proper crowd management during such charitable activities, especially during the festive season.

While acknowledging the noble intentions of organizers seeking to bring relief to vulnerable members of society, the Minister strongly admonishes all individuals and organizations 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 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.

Furthermore, the Minister appealed to politicians and other stakeholders to refrain from politicizing the unfortunate incidents, stressing that those tragic events are 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.