***drums support for school feeding programme.
The Kwara State Directorate of National Orientation Agency (NOA) has admonished mothers to do all within their powers to dissuade their wards and children from indulging in violence even as the 2023 general elections are fast approaching.
The Agency’s State Director, Mr Olusegun Adeyemi gave the admonition in Ilorin on Wednesday while addressing executive members of the Women Wing of Christian Association of Nigeria ( WOWICAN) from all the 16 Local Government Areas.
The NOA State Director described as needless and dangerous, the act of using young ones to perpetuate violence and disrupting the peace of the society which some evil minded office seekers are fond of.
He decried a situation where youths are used as thugs to cause mayhem especially during the electioneering periods and as instruments of violence and encouraged women to counsel their wards against such.
According to Adeyemi “parents and guardians, especially mothers must continually prevail upon youths from allowing evil minded persons use them as agents of chaos”.
He further ascertained that women account for a large part of the voting population, hence leaders should mobilise other women to collect their PVCs in readiness to vote correctly during the elections.
Adeyemi added that now that political parties have begun campaigns, children and wards must be properly monitored and counselled not to mortgage their future by serving as agents of destruction or terrorization.
On the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, the NOA helmsman noted that it is a Federal government-led and financed programme that aims to improve the health and educational outcomes of public primary school pupils.
He further explained that the scheme uses farm produce locally grown by smallholder farmers to provide children with nutritious mid-day meals every school day.
Adeyemi therefore called on the women to support the program and not dissuade their children from taking it based on comments from some quarters that it is political and diabolical.
The WOWICAN Chairperson in Kwara State Lady Evangelist Maria Bukoye expressed her gratitude to NOA Kwara for being proactive and for reaching out to the women leaders and urged the Agency to take back to government, the feedback on both elections and NHGSFP.
She assured that through WOWICAN’s network, peace at the grassroots and in every nook and cranny of Kwara will be pursued.
Raphael Adeyemi
Public Relations Officer
National Orientation Agency
Kwara State
13th October, 2022
