The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has urged President Bola Tinubu to govern Nigeria differently from the previous administration led by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Christian body also warned that the country will not make any significant progress under Tinubu’s leadership if the issue of insecurity was not addressed.
The Christian body’s caution came amidst the controversy surrounding the removal of oil subsidy by the President, which has resulted in a significant increase in the price of petrol, causing suffering and hardship among Nigerians.
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The Vice President of CAN, Rev Dr Stephen Baba-Panya, spoke in Jos on Saturday during the installation of Rev Ayuba Asheshe as the new General Secretary of the Evangelical Church Winning All. The ceremony was held at the ECWA Headquarters in Plateau State’s capital.
Baba-Panya argued that the present hardship being experienced by Nigerians as a result of fuel subsidy removal would have been avoided if the Tinubu-led federal government had first addressed the problem of corruption that had trailed the implementation of the policy under the past administration.
He said:
“When you look at the removal of the oil subsidy and if it was done with integrity, nobody would have complained. As desirable as the removal of the subsidy is, the problem we are having is the corruption that has been associated with its implementation in the past years; That is what is making subsidy unattractive.
“One would have wished that God will give the new government the political will to deal with the corruption in the system so that the subsidy payment that is being claimed will not be as high as they want Nigerians to believe, and it would have been at a reasonable level So that ordinary Nigerians will have the benefit of the commonwealth of the country that is coming through the oil resources.”
The CAN VP urged Tinubu that one of the ways he can right the wrongs of the past was to carry every section of the country along in administering the nation.
He said:
“Insecurity should come topmost before anything else because, without the security of the people, nothing will work under this administration. Even if you form an all-inclusive government, revive the economy, fight corruption, and fail to put proper security arrangements for the people, your work, in the end, will amount to zero.
“So, for us to witness progress and development as a country in the new dispensation, I call on the Federal Government not to make the mistake of the past government where the whole security architecture was biased in favour of certain regions and religions because that action alone is not good for security purposes of the country.”
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