House Minority Leader Mourns Victims of Triple Stampede, Calls For Action to Alleviate Hunger

House Minority Leader Mourns Victims of Triple Stampede, Calls For Action to Alleviate Hunger

JOEL OLADELE, Abuja

The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives,  Kingsley Chinda has expressed deep sorrow over the tragic stampedes that occurred in Ibadan, Okija, and Abuja, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries during the distribution of empowerment palliatives.

Chinda, in a statement signed on Thursday, condemned the incidents that unfolded as citizens gathered to receive food and essential items during the festive season.

“We are shocked at the severity of the pains, deaths, and injuries that happened at these respective locations.

“As a Caucus, it is saddening that in just a few days, we lost about 70 people; including children, nursing mothers, women, and the elderly as a result of stampedes that happened at the distribution points. It is heartbreaking and heartrending that these victims paid the supreme price in search of what to eat. Pathetic, and dehumanizing!” Chinda stated.

The statement highlighted the alarming trend of such tragedies becoming increasingly common across the nation, attributing this to the biting economic situation that has led to debilitating poverty and corrosive hunger. “We are saddened that as a result of harsh economic realities, many people who have fallen into untoward hardship and penury throng any and every empowerment palliative event in search of what to eat,” Chinda noted.

In response to these distressing occurrences, the Caucus is urging the Federal Government (FG) and various intervention agencies to take immediate action to enhance and expand empowerment programs.

“With the negative global attention these avoidable incidents have generated, we reiterate that the FG and State Governments should do more by ensuring that these palliatives percolate to the right people that need such,” Chinda emphasized.

As the Caucus extends its condolences to the families of the victims and those who suffered injuries, it calls for improved safety measures at distribution events. “We call for proper security arrangements, foolproof crowd management, and appropriate medical services at the venues of distribution of empowerment palliatives by governments, agencies, politicians, religious bodies, social groups, and individuals,” Chinda urged.

The tragic loss of life has sparked a renewed call for urgent action to address the underlying issues of hunger and poverty in Nigeria, with the Minority Caucus committed to advocating for the vulnerable and ensuring that such tragedies do not recur in the future.