By John Odunayo
Excited that the state was peaceful, the governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, on Friday thanked the people of Ekiti State for their peaceful conduct during the ongoing nationwide protest.
In a statement by the Special adviser to the Governor on Media, Yinka Oyebode, the governor urged residents “to continue to maintain the path of peace. The current economic challenges would soon become a thing of the past”.
The governor, who had earlier on Wednesday appealed for calm in a statewide broadcast, said he was thankful to the people of the state for shunning violence and embracing peace.
Full activities returned to the streets of Ekiti State on Friday as trooped out for their daily activities.
The shops, businesses and petrol and gas filling stations, which were closed especially in the early hours of Thursday being the first day of the anti-hunger strike, were flung open on Friday.
Civil servants were at their desks as petrol stations especially where the product is sold for N695 per litre witnessed queues of motorists who wanted to buy petrol.
Recall that the people stayed at home on Thursday although there was no protest of any form in Ekiti State.
The Commissioner of Police in Ekiti State, Adeniran Akinwale, had on Thursday hailed the peace in state, saying his men would continue to be on ground to sustain the peace without taking anything for granted.
Akinwale said, “The assessment through my observation patrol is that the state is relatively peaceful. People are going about their normal business. This is because the security we put on ground is to ensure that we protect the interest of everybody.
“Even if there is any protest, we are here to provide security for all and sundry. But we thank God there is no violent protest and we are happy about it. The men are fully on the ground and they have been briefed accordingly.
“The strategy in place is still sustaining the peace. We are not going to relent, we don’t take things for granted like that. We will continue to be on the ground to ensure that we maintain that peace and tranquility in Ekiti State”.
The Police commissioner appealed to Ekiti residents to remain calm, saying the people should sustain their decision not to come out for protest.
A youth and trader, Kazeem Olabanjo, who said it had never been in the agenda of youth in Ekiti State to be part of the protest, said, “We have not forgotten the experiences that people had in the state here during the 2020 EndSARS protest. People were killed, injured and businesses wrecked. There are people who are yet to recover”.
A student leader and the Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Students, Ekiti Axis, Samuel Asaolu, said, “We are here this morning to clarify that as far as NANS in Ekiti State is concerned in all our campuses, we are not aware of any planned protest, it is none of our concern.
“The government of Ekiti State has been trying its best possible to meet our requests. We (students) have pressing issues which we have relayed to the government of Ekiti State and which are being handled. I urge our students across our campuses to remain calm. Dialogue is the best that we can go for,” Asaolu said.
Also, the National President, Federation of Ekiti State Students, Benjamin Onileowo, said that students in the state were committed to dialogue, saying, “We have moved from protest to participation. Dialogue is key.
“We are calling on students of Ekiti State to remain calm and restrain themselves from protests organised by some groups that are not known to the public and continue to support the governments of Biodun Oyebanji in Ekiti State and President Bola Tinubu to discharge their responsibilities and the leaders in power in Ekiti State and Nigeria.
Onileowo said, “The Student Loan initiative of the Tinubu administration is a blessing to Nigerian students just as we thank Oyebanji for the digitalization of the application process for bursary and scholarship for Ekiti State students”.