By George Edomwonyi
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently address the present economic challenges in the country to avoid further hardship on Nigerians.
The President of CBCN, Archbishop Lucious Ugorji made the call on Sunday in his welcome address at the opening session of the 2024 Second Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops held at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo.
Ugorji, who is the Archbishop of Owerri Diocese, also condemned the recent kidnapping at Otukpo of some Catholic medical students from the Universities of Maiduguri and Jos, who were on their way to Enugu but thanked God for their freedom.
He commended the security agents and others who assisted in ensuring that they were released, noting that insecurity remained one of the major challenges in the country.
According to him, the economic challenges have caused multidimensional poverty and untold hardship, hence, the youth decided to embark on a nationwide protest tagged “Endbadgovernance”.
“The protest was as a result of disappointment and frustration faced by many Nigerians.
“Though Nigerians have the constitutional right to express their grievances through peaceful protest, there was a widespread concern that the planned protest could be hijacked by miscreants to unleash mayhem on the nation.”
He alleged that some security operatives who ought to have protected citizens during the protest resorted to threat, intimidation and blackmail to deter youths from their planned protest.
He stated that in spite of all odds, the protest still took off peacefully as planned but went awry midway in some places especially in the north.
He, however, frowned at the attitude of some youths who were violent during the protest and also condemned the alleged killing of some protesting youths by security operatives.
“We wish to stress that as the nation is afflicted with poverty, hardship and corruption and as long as the future of youths in our nation remains bleak, we must continue to reckon with the youths’ protest.”
On the issue of increasing debt burden, the CBCN said the government should block all leakages and increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in order to run its affairs effectively.
“The withdrawal of fuel subsidies and floating of the Naira triggered a skyrocketing inflation that has reduced most Nigerians to a life of abject poverty.”
Earlier, in his Holy Mass to flag off the conference Most Rev. Dr Gabriel Dunia, urged elected officers to work for the citizens.
“The elected ones must not and should not think of how to please themselves, rather they should focus on how to please the populace,” Dunia said.
He urged the Catholic faithful in the diocese to see the visits of the bishops in Auchi as a blessing to the community.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria is the highest decision-making body of the Catholic Church in Nigeria and holds its plenary meeting twice in a year where matters of the Catholic faith and society are discussed. (NAN)
