Nation
Bishops Seek Inclusive Govt To Stem Nigeria’s Break-Up
The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria (CBCN) has taken a stand on the rising insecurity, electronic transmission of results and call for Nigeria’s break-up.
The Catholic bishops, in a communiqué issued at the end of the Second Plenary Meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Enugu, yesterday, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to adopt inclusion of all ethnic groups in decision making and policies of the nation in order to avoid a break-up.
The clergy admonished Nigerians and the government to toe the path of unity and dialogue in order to unite the nation and not cause break-up.
The CBCN also demanded that the government ensures a just and fair trial of the arrested key players in the struggles to curb cases that trigger off further avoidable unrest and calls for break-up
Part of the communique read, “We urge both government and citizens to work for a nation in which everyone and every part, irrespective of differences of tribe or religion or political affiliation, will have a sense of belonging. We reiterate that the struggle for the ‘soul’ of Nigeria, that is presently ongoing, will not be won by ethnic cleansing, nepotism, kidnapping and banditry but by love, fairness and equity, common good and patriotism.
“We, therefore, enjoin the government and all Nigerians to toe the path of justice and conciliatory dialogue and see themselves as agents of peace and development in order to ensure a harmonious and united nation.
“We are grateful to God that we still exist as one nation. This is in spite of sundry agitations and struggles for self-determination. We observe that the agitations and tensions are mainly as a result of bad governance, injustice, inequity, and unfairness in appointments and distribution of resources to parts of the country. We recognize the rights of peoples to self-determination; yet we emphasize that the exercise of such rights must be within the confines of the rule of law.
“We as a church are keenly interested in the political situation of our country. Although the church does not support any political party, she supports every government that prioritizes the welfare of the citizens.”
The church also condemned government policies that do not promote development and the common good.
They called for a fair and credible election in 2023 as it appealed to the National Assembly to rescind its decision against electronic transmission of results, stressing that that will create room for rigging of votes.
“We insist that there is an urgent need for a fair and credible electoral process, through which our political leaders emerge. We, therefore, state loud and clear that the recent voting by the National Assembly against electronic transmission of results of elections will create an opening for further manipulation of electoral votes and lay the foundation for more conflicts in future elections.
“We call on the National Assembly to reconsider its position in the light of world best practices,” the communique added.
Rivers state Deputy Governor Professor Ngozi Nma Odu has commended “The Port Harcourt City One Love,”a Port Harcourt based humanitarian orgnisation For it’s commitment towards alleviating the sufferings of the poor and vulnerable in the society.
Professor Ngozi Nma Odu said this while speaking at this year’s edition of “operation feed the needy” a yearly outreach program of “The Port Harcourt City One Love ” in Port Harcourt.
The Deputy Governor said by feeding more than sixty thousands hungry people within the past six years, the Port Harcourt City One Love Movement has distinguished itself as a club that cares for the less privilege in the society.
She commended the , organization for listing eleven thousand persons to be fed in the current exercise.
Meanwhile The Port Harcourt City One Love has planned a permanent solution to the problem of feeding the poor in the state.
The leader of the group Mr Idaere Gogo Ogan who said this in an interview with newsmen during the distribution of food items to the poor and vulnerables in Port Harcourt said the organization is planning a permanent food kitchen where poor and vulnerable persons can work in anytime and get fed.
Idaere Gogo Ogan said more than sixty thousands poor and vulnerable persons across Port Harcourt City and environs have been fed since the inception of “The operation feed the needy” program six years ago,adding that so far sixty thousands poor and vulnerable persons have beneffited.
He described the group as a platform to promote friendship, brotherhood, community development empathy and feeding the less privilege and hungry people
“That’s what we are doing today here,so we started the exercise six years ago”.he said.
Ogan said the effort was a private sector driven initiative but added “it also involves people in Government because the platform does not recognize any division,we bring everybody together in unity , friendship and brotherhood”he said.
He said the effort will go along way in alleviating hunger especially following the prevailing hunger in the country.
According to him “you know the country is very tough, people are hungry people are starving, there is a whole lot of economic hardship,so for us, this is just our own way of reaching out, our own social contribution to what is very difficult”he said.
Over eleven thousand persons were fed in the just concluded exercise.
Areas of coverage include, Isaac Boro park, Port Harcourt prison/Macoba, Borokiri/Enugu waterside Bundu areas Waterlines and others.
Some of the beneficiaries including an 80 years old widow commended the movement for the annual programm and urged other organizations to emulate them
John Bibor,/Esuuk Oyet/Suotor Memoye /Jeremiah Hannah
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