PROTEST: Ekiti yet to recover from EndSARS violence, Oyebanji tells youth

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, on Wednesday, appealed to residents of the state not to fall prey to the agenda of those causing chaos in the state, all in the name of protest.

Recall that the #EndBadGovernance protest aimed at drawing the Federal Government’s attention to the economic plight in the country is scheduled to begin tomorrow.

Oyebanji, who spoke in a Special State Broadcast, titled: ‘Need to uphold peace during planned nationwide protests on August 1’ to the people of the state ahead of the planned nationwide protests, noted that the state was yet to recover from the violence and destruction of the 2020 EndSARS protests.

However, he appealed to Ekiti residents to continue their daily routines without fear or doubt.

He added that no one would be allowed to obstruct, intimidate, hinder or harass anyone in the name of protest in Ekiti.

Oyebanji said: “On our part, we want to assure citizens that we are determined to protect our country and ensure there is no breakdown of law and order. Security agencies will remain vigilant and will not allow anyone to tarnish our unblemished reputation as a peaceful and progressive country.”

He also appealed to parents and guardians, traditional leaders and religious leaders “to appeal to the youth not to surrender themselves to evil traders who want to exploit them to cause violence in our country because the protests can easily be hijacked by criminals. No matter how peaceful the protests may seem at the beginning, no one can predict the dynamics and the outcome of the protests.”

The governor acknowledged that it is a citizen’s constitutional right to protest.

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“Therefore, it is hoped that the demonstration will be carried out in a safe and peaceful atmosphere, without being accompanied by acts of violence against other citizens who also have the inalienable right to move and live without hindrance,” he said.

Oyebanji said violence would be “counterproductive now because everything is being done to restore the economy to productivity through various fiscal and monetary measures that are already showing early signs of success and we cannot allow a rollback of the gains made now.

“As a society, we cannot afford the kind of costly economic damage that occurred in 2020 during the #EndSARS protests that resulted in the destruction of much of our private and government infrastructure. Businesses worth millions of naira were completely destroyed and their owners were forever devastated.

“As of today, the warehouses of the Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency and other government institutions are still in ruins due to the burning and looting carried out by backward elements masquerading as protesters.

“Many silos that serve as strategic national storage for food and seeds have been burned, looted and vandalized. The government is still struggling to replace or repair this infrastructure, despite limited resources.”

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