- Advises FG to address the ills in the land
The Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN), has expressed concern over the state of President Muhammadu Buhari’s health.
It advised Buhari to seek further treatment if that would restore his sound health and help pailot the affairs of the country.
CAN President who is also the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Rev Samson Ayokunle also called on the Federal Government to rise up to the challenges in the country that are bringing untold hardship to the populace with a view to putting them into a permanent end.
The call was made through a communique issued at the just concluded 104th annual session of the denomination held last week in Abuja and was presided over by Ayokunle.
The communique issued and signed by the Special Assistant (Media & Communications) to the CAN President, Adebayo Oladeji, focused on the health status of President Muhammadu Buhari; security challenges, anti-corruption war; unemployment, unpaid wages and salaries with attendant problems, the menace of the university admission, including delayed budget 2017 and proffered a far-reaching solutions to them.
The communique reads in part: “We thank the Almighty God for the life of our President Muhammadu Buhari who fell ill and travelled for medical attention abroad. We observe with dismay the political undercurrent that surrounds the health of our dear President especially the lack of openness in telling Nigerians that he went for medical attention.
“However, we are very grateful and adore the name of our Lord God Almighty who in His infinite mercy had graciously brought our President back to his feet and restored his health. We, therefore, urge Nigerians to continue to pray for him for more strength and mercy of God as he resumed office. We advise the President not to hesitate in going for further treatment if that would help in quickly restoring him back to sound health so as to continue performing his duties to the nation.
“we encourage and advice Nigerians to have a positive disposition towards the lives of our leaders by constantly wishing them well and praying for them at all times.
“We commend the Federal Government for sustaining and winning the war against various security challenges confronting our nation namely: Boko Haram insurgency, Kidnapping, Rape, Gun-men attacks, Militancy, Ritual killing, Fulani Herdsmen and Farmers’ clashes in various parts of the nation and of recent the communal crisis in Ile-Ife.
“We also observe and commend the Federal Government in the efforts to stem the tide of criminal activities and resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the North Eastern part of Nigeria due to Boko Haram insurgency as well as the securing of the release of 21 Chibok girls. We urge the government not to relent in getting the rest released before their lives are totally messed up by the terrorists.
“We observe the persistent crisis in Southern Kaduna, Agatu Community in Benue State and other places in the East, South South Western Nigeria. We condemn in strong terms the reckless killing and destruction of property taking place in the areas.
However, despite the steps taken so far by the government in tackling security problems in the country there are still various security challenges in the nation, we, therefore, urge the Government to take the following measures: Government should be proactive in responding to security challenges and bring the perpetrators and their sponsors to book. We encourage the Federal Government to provide relief materials for the affected communities in Southern Kaduna Area and other places to cushion the effect of the crisis.
“The Fulani Herdsmen caught or implicated in criminal activities should be made to face the full wrath of the law for their crime without sentiment or emotional appeal. The Government should leave no stone unturned in fighting Boko Haram insurgency and their sponsors at all levels. We encourage the government to intensify effort to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls still in the custody of Boko Haram. The government must equip and empower our Law Enforcement Agencies to enable them to tackle the security challenges in our nation. For instance, their welfare should be given priority to boost their morale and confidence in the war against crime and criminal activities.
“Since the people of Southern Kaduna are farmers, we urge the government to provide enough security in the area to enable them return to their agricultural business and farming activities without hindrance. There should be security cover in the villages as well. The Fulani herdsmen blocking highways, robbing and kidnapping people for ransom from Abuja, Kaduna to Jos should be apprehended and brought to book without further delay.
“We observe and commend the Federal Government for her stand on corruption and the various steps taken so far to sustain the war against corruption. We equally observe that several amounts of money running to trillions of naira have been recovered from people and locations in Nigeria. We, therefore, urge the government to continue the fight against corruption without sentiment, bias or selective disposition. We also call on Government to put the money recovered so far into the economy of the nation so as to positively affect and impact the lives of Nigerians.
“We observe the on-going social empowerment program of the Federal Government of Nigeria and appreciate the vision. We encourage that such program should be supported by all tiers of government in Nigeria. We observe with dismay the delay in the passage of 2017 budget and the attendant financial and untold hardship which this has brought to Nigerians. This delay may not be unconnected with the friction between the executive and legislative arms of government. We, therefore, urge the two arms of government to see themselves as partners in progress and end all rivalries. The National Assembly is therefore called upon to speedily pass the budget to minimise the present financial hardship in the country.
“We observe and commend the Federal Government’s efforts on the release of Parish Club loan refund to the State Government. The money is to enable the State Governments to pay their staff salaries and provide other social amenities and infrastructures. However, we observe that some State Governments did not use the money for the specific purposes for which they are meant. There is information that the monies are being diverted and or misappropriated. We urge the Federal Government to compel the State Governments to use the money for the purposes for which they are released.
“We observe and commend the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board for various innovations being introduced in JAMB.
“We, however, observe that these changes and innovations are inflicting untold hardship on the registration of prospective candidates to our Universities. We, therefore, urge the JAMB Registrar to expedite action on various new innovations to ease the tension presently experienced during registration exercise and provide more venues for registration as well as examination centres to avoid crisis during the conduct of the main examination.”
