By: Monday Munkaila, Gombe
Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has urged Nigerians to embrace dialogue and understanding as the best approach to addressing the nation’s challenges, rather than resorting to protests.
The governor made this call during a meeting with organized labor, civil society organizations, and other trade unions in Gombe State.
“It is dialogue and understanding that will bring peace and development, not protest and violence,” the governor emphasized, calling on leaders and followers alike to make sacrifices for the nation’s survival.
The governor also appealed to business owners and traders to desist from hoarding commodities, warning of government intervention if the situation persists.
He commended the organizations present for choosing dialogue over protest, assuring them that their grievances would be addressed.
The Governor used the occasion to disclose that the state is yet to receive its allocated share of the Federal Government’s rice, intended for free distribution to citizens to alleviate the current hardship.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya, who commended the Federal Government’s initiative, which allocated 20 trucks of rice to each of the 36 states and the FCT to cushion the effects of the economic challenges faced by the populace, however, expressed concern over the delay in receiving these essential supplies in Gombe.
Despite this, he emphasized the state’s commitment to providing relief to its citizens, citing previous palliative distributions and ongoing investments in education, health, and agriculture.
The governor assured workers of the state government’s commitment to continued regular salary payments and the clearance of outstanding gratuities and other entitlements.
In their remarks, representatives of the Organised Labour and Chairman of the Gombe State chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Yusuf Aish Bello, Coalition of Civil Society organizations, Ibrahim 3000, and the Gombe State Traders Association, Alhaji Sunusi, emphasized that all their members and affiliate bodies opposed the planned nationwide protest, opting instead for dialogue and discussion to foster peaceful coexistence in the state and the nation aa contained in a statement by Ismaila Uba Misilli, Director-General, ( Press Affairs), Government House, Gombe.
