Enugu—The Church of Nigeria, Diocese of Enugu (Anglican Communion) weekend expressed concerns over the recently signed Executive Order No.6 of 2018 by the Federal Government, saying it should not be used against perceived enemies or opposition.
The executive order empowers the Federal Government to seize suspicious assets connected with corruption and other relevant offences. The church noted with dismay the hasty nature of the investigations and trial of five Christians over alleged killing of a herdsman by a Yola High Court and their conviction and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that the five condemned Christians were not executed.
Rising from the first session of her 17Synod, held at St Matthew’s Church, Amechi-Awkunanaw, Enugu south, the church said it was worried that the order was coming into effect when the country was planning an election and when the fight against corruption seemed lopsided.
In a communiqué released after the Synod signed by the Archbishop/Bishop of the Diocese, Most Rev Emmanuel Chukwuma, Synod Secretary, Ven. Stanley Nweze and Registrar, HBC Ogboko, the church claimed corruption has assumed a rising trend in the country. The church alleged that despite the Treasury Single Account, TSA, by the Federal Government, “there has not been prudence in expenditure of public funds,” stressing that there was “need to enthrone measures towards plugging the leakages and ensuring abatement of financial misappropriation.”
According to the statement, “On the power sector, the church noted the position of the government that power generation had risen to 7000 megawatts, expressing dismay however that the development had not materialized into stable power supply. “It added that Nigerians had continued to grapple with epileptic power supply and attendant sufferings and called on the Federal Government to look into the development.
“While underscoring the importance of education and poor budgetary allocation, the Synod urged the Federal Government to enthrone appropriate measures geared towards enhancement of education funding in order to meet UNESCO standard.
“The Synod noted with dissatisfaction, the rising spate of killings in the country such as in Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Benue and Taraba states as well as last week’s killing of seven policemen in Abuja and called on the Federal Government to protect the citizenry.”
“It condemned the continued occupation in office of service chiefs, urging the president to overhaul the security architecture of the country to save lives and property.
“The Synod further accused the federal government of treating herdsmen menace with kids-gloves, stressing that the development had emboldened them to maim, kill and destroy property in the country.
“The Synod suspects a possibility of strange collaboration between the herdsmen and the security agents, hence, the Synod calls for the immediate overhaul of the current security architecture, to inject new officers into the leadership of the Military and Police.”
The Synod frowns at the alleged reduction in the amount budgeted for some federal government projects in the southeast, especially the Akanu Ibiam International Airport and the second Niger Bridge project and called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency, put up a supplementary bill to return whatever that were removed.
The Church also frowns at the continued detention of Miss Leah Sharibu after her mates abducted at Dapchi were released because of her Christian faith and called on federal government to ensure her release without further delay.
Vanguard
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