“NOA is intensifying efforts on civil intelligence gathering and sensitisation of community leaders, parents and youths across the 774 local governments on the need for vigilance and collective preventive actions”
By Nudoiba Ojen
THE Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, has appealed to promoters of the proposed nationwide protests to embrace dialogue and shun disorder.
Issa-Onilu, according to a statement by NOA’s Deputy Director, Press, Paul Odenyi, spoke as government continues to engage with stakeholders on the economic, social and political challenges confronting the country.
He said that the agency’s nationwide structure has successfully identified sponsors of the proposed protests and likely flashpoints, saying government will take appropriate measures to forestall any violent occurrence in the identified locations.
The statement added that the Director-General reiterated that identities of many of those behind the protests have been known, along with their collaborators, who he said reside abroad, noting that the government is taking necessary actions to stop their subversive plans.
It also said Mallam Issa-Onilu insisted that the mission of elements behind the planned protests is not good governance or improved state of the economy but rather a decoy to destabilise the country, cause mayhem, carry out arson, killings and maiming of innocent citizens for narrow political reasons.
Odenyi said NOA is intensifying efforts on civil intelligence gathering and sensitisation of community leaders, parents and youths across the 774 local governments on the need for vigilance and collective preventive actions.
He also said the NOA boss further disclosed that another objective of organisers of the protests is to paint the picture of an unstable country to the international community as part of the grand design to intimidate the government and seek patronage of bigger sponsors for the planned protests.
He, however, said that NOA’s channels of communication remain open for dialogue to both the government and its various arms, explaining that it will continue to respect citizens’ rights to protest and associate freely in line with democratic principles”.
