As the nationwide protest against hunger begins tomorrow, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Khana Local Government Area, Amb. Marvin Yobana, has called on stakeholders in the area to distance themselves from the planned protest.

Amb. Yobana who made the call on Monday during an interactive meeting with traditional rulers, youths and Community Development Committee (CDC) leaders in the area, described the planned nationwide hunger protest as a call for anarchy.

Recall that Amb. Yobana had, in a statement last Friday, made a similar call against the backdrop of a plan by some aggrieved Nigerians to embark on a 10-day nationwide protest, beginning from August 1-10, 2024, against economic hardship in the country.

The planned protest, organised under the hashtag ‘EndBadGovernance,’ has gained significant traction on social media even as the organisers remain largely anonymous, with no group officially claiming responsibility.

Speaking at the interactive meeting on Monday, Amb. Yobana charged traditional rulers, youths and community leaders in the area to prevail on their subjects not to partake in the planned protest, insisting that the planned protest is a call for anarchy in the country.

Yobana, according to a statement by his media team, anchored the agenda of the meeting on three major reasons which include security, the planned nationwide protest and the general welfare of the Khana people.

He said the interactive meeting became imperative because all the stakeholders in Khana Local Government Area have the responsibility to ensure that the area remains peaceful and successful in governance.

“There is no one more Ogoni than the others, therefore, the success or failure of Khana is in everyone’s hands,” he said.

The local government boss, however, charged the traditional rulers, CDC and youth leaders to prevail on the bad elements within the area to avoid unpleasant consequences.

He assured that as a local government council chairman entrusted with the welfare of his people, he would not fail to discharge his duties creditably in line with the Governor Siminilayi Fubara’s mantra of ‘the people first’.

“I have the responsibility to discharge the responsibilities given to me by His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara dutifully in line with his mantra of ‘the people first’. That’s why I have prioritized the welfare of Khana people. That is why I am ensuring that the Bori Zonal Hospital, major primary and secondary schools in the LGA get a facelift, while personnel needed to discharge various duties are employed,” he said.

Responding, the Gbenemene of Ken-Khana, His Royal Majesty, King (Dr) Barile Deebom Yornae, commended the CTC chairman for the meeting, and for recognising traditional rulers and community leaders as part of his government, describing the interactive session as novel.

He said, however, that for peace to rein in various communities in Khana Local Government Area, traditional rulers should be given deserved recognition.

He added that the Police and the traditional rulers also need to have a good working relationship and unite against crimes and criminality in the area. 

Another traditional ruler, Mene Bua Baa, Mene M.S.K Nule, berated the Police for the harassment and embarrassment of traditional rulers, saying “It’s only in Rivers State that the security personnel will disgrace community chiefs and traditional rulers and go scot-free.”

Also speaking at the interactive meeting, a community leader from Khana, Chief Anthony Nwidag, appealed to Amb. Yobana to reactivate the police posts  in Kono and also restore power supply in the area as a way of checking insecurity in the local government area.