Ahead of the August 1 planned protest by Nigerian youths because of hunger and high cost of goods and services in the county, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River State Council, has advised the Federal Government to focus more on agriculture rather than palliative.
The advice was given in a communique at the end of the monthly congress of the Union in Calabar at Ernest Etim Bassey Press Centre presided over the chairman, Comrade Archibong Bassey, convened at 4pm to discussed critical issues with focus on the state of the union, state of the state and state of the nation.
The congress commended the current executives for the strides recorded within the short period in office and voted that percentages due to chapels and the council be disbursed towards the end of the year.
After an extensive deliberation, the congress resolved as follows: Congress commended the Federal and State Governments for the palliatives given to organization and groups and appealed that State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) should make the distribution process transparent as well as work with the media for accountability and fairness;
Federal and State Governments should work towards phasing out distribution of palliatives and rather focus on food production;
Congress noted with dismay the sudden surge of beggars purportedly struck by tumour in the metropolis giving a negative image to the state, which is a tourism destination and called on the ministries of health, environment and other relevant agencies to evacuate them from the metropolis;
Congress joined the Federal and State Governments to appeal to peace loving Cross Riverians and other residents to embrace dialogue as the preferred alternative to the planned protest, and
Congress appealed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to urgently resolve the lingering issues with Dangote Refinery in the overall interest of the suffering masses.
