By Mercy Osajiugo
Catholic Bishops have asked the Federal Government to device new strategies to bolster and reinforce anti- corruption fight as the current approach is not yielding desired results.
The Bishops from the Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province made the call in a communiqué issued after a two-day conference at St. Micheal’s Catholic Cathedral, Minna, Niger, on Tuesday.
The communiqué was signed by the Chairman of the conference, Archbishop Mathew Ndagoso and the Secretary, Bishop John Niyiring.
The bishops said that fight against corruption appeared mired in judicial technicalities.
They said that the conference would continue to encourage relevant agencies in the anti-graft campaign to find new strategies for winning the war.
“The conference decried that insurgency, cattle rustling, kidnapping and assassination are on the rise in the country leading to wanton loss of lives.
“We are saddened that things seem to have gotten progressively worse today in the country” the communique said.
It also noted that two years into the present administration, “there are no measurable changes in the welfare of the people”.
The conference pointed out that recession had not abated and that lives of ordinary people had continued to hang in the balance.
It stated that the people entrusted the present government with their hopes by voting across religion and regions but that government seemed to have squandered most of that goodwill.
The bishops also deplored the on-going strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), saying that it was incessant and had become a bigger burden to parents and their children.
“ASUU’s season of strikes has undermined the credibility and value of education and seriously lowered the integrity of the academia,” it said.
The clerics “joined millions of Nigerians in thanking God for answering prayers for President Muhammadu Buhari’s recovery.
“We will continue to pray to God to give him strength and wisdom to face the challenges that our nation faces in these difficult moments.”
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province comprises Kaduna, Sokoto, Kontangora, Zaria, Minna, Kano and Kafanchan areas. (NAN)
