Monday, August 26, 2024-The President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, has called on President Bola Tinubu to revisit his economic policies, noting that Nigerians are no longer at ease with them.
Ugorji, who is also the Archbishop of
Owerri, stated that the economic policies put in place by President Tinubu have
caused Nigerians more harm than good.
He made the call on Sunday while delivering
his welcome address at the opening session of the 2024 Second Plenary Assembly
of the CBCN held in Auchi, Edo State.
He said the socio-economic problems of the
nation were unmistakably beyond what economic reforms alone can effectively
resolve, no matter how well thought-out and how meticulously implemented.
Most Rev. Ugorji, who opined that it seemed
that the policies were no longer working, however, advocated for the return to
a regional system of government to checkmate corruption and put the nation at
the right footing.
He said the calls to return to the regional
system was because the problems in the country have gone beyond mere economic
reforms.
“When all is said and done, we must admit
that the cost of running our military imposed presidential system of government
with so many elected officials assisted by numerous support staff is staggering
and unsustainable.
“We must also acknowledge that the
corruption level of many Nigerian politicians have gone beyond scale and
measure and that controlling our national resources at the federal government
level creates more opportunities for corruption to flourish.
“Having experimented on the presidential
system of government for over 25 years and having groped in the dark in search
of solutions to our socio-economic problems, now seems to be the opportune time
to heed the advice of some of our best minds canvassing for our return to the
former regional system of government as envisaged by the founding fathers of
our nation or devolve power to the present six geo-political zones”, he said.
The Archbishop, who said the bishops
acknowledged the feats enumerated by President Bola Tinubu on his 4th of August
speech, noted that they cannot fail to admit that the present state of the
nation was worrisome.
He listed the numerous problems bedeviling
the nation to include increased debt burden of $2.25 billion loan facility from
the World Bank in June 2024, with a repayment period of 40 years.
He said the debt increased the nation’s
public debt profile by 2.46 percent to $93.7 billion.
Ugorji also listed multiple taxation, hunger
and hardship induced by insecurity as the major challenges faced by the
citizens.
He posited that proactive steps must be
taken urgently to address the situation before it snowballed into a huge
crisis.
Earlier in his homily, Most Rev. Fr. Gabriel
Dunia, Bishop of Auchi Diocese, called on those in authority not to lord it
over those whom they have been called to serve.
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