Kogi Non-Governmental Organisations Network (KONGONET) has called on the state government to investigate and prosecute owners of trucks involved in an accident that claimed several lives in Felele area of the Lokoja-Abuja Highway.
The network, which made the call in its third-quarter 2020 press briefing on Thursday in Lokoja, said said the loss of valuable lives and property on that portion of the highway had assumed alarming proportion.
Mr Idris Muraina, chairman of the network who addressed newsmen on behalf of other members of the KONGONET, said there was an urgent need to investigate and prosecute owners of the articulated trucks to serve as a deterrent to others.
Muraina say compensation should be paid to families members of the dead and injured victims, urging the Federal and State Governments to wake up to their responsibilities by providing good roads.
The KONGONET chairman also lamented the shoddy operation of the School Feeding Programme in the state, saying that this could be scaled up and redesigned for better coverage and results.
“Within the reporting period, the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education For All (CSACEFA) was unable to identify or relate with the methodology applied in the distribution of the Federal Government school feeding initiative across the state as postulated by the Minister of humanitarian affairs.”
He said that the Kogi Education sector is gradually picking up after being grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and praised the E-Learning programme initiated by the education commissioner through the state-owned radio station.
On politics, he lauded the State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) for scheduling December 12 for the Local Government Council elections in the state, saying that it was a welcomed development.
Muraina, however, urged political parties to conform with their internal democracy and uphold the provisions of their Constitution selecting their representatives to avoid rancour in the conduct of the council polls.
On citizens engagement in governance, KONGONET commended the State Government, especially the Finance Ministry for engaging citizens in issues of budget development through periodic meetings with civil Society groups and citizens of the State.
On social welfare, he said that the Association for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Nigeria (AONN), Kogi State branch, had continued to lament the trajectory increase in child abuse cases across the state.
“We urge the state government, through the Kogi State Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development, to swing into action to end all forms of violence against children in the state and enforce relevant child protection laws,” he said.
(NAN)
