APC Government has not lived up to expectations Catholic Bishops

Olabode Adaramola, Minna

The Catholic Bishops of Kaduna Ecclesiastical   Province, have expressed their displeasure  that despite the fact that the incumbent All Progressives Congress[APC} led –administration at the Centre,   has spent over two years in office that there were still no changes in the lives of the citizens  as promised by the party during their campaigns across the country in 2015 .

The Clergymen who were from eight states in the north and met on the auspices of “Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province” at the Bishops House,  St. Michael Catholic  Cathedral, Minna, Niger state capital between Monday and Tuesday Plenary meeting, raised the observation on Tuesday in a Communique read on their  behalf by  their  Chairman,   Most  Rev. {Dr. } Mathew  Man’Oso  Ndagoso  who is also  the  Bishop of the Catholic Diocese, Kaduna, pointing out   that the economic recession has not  abated, while the lives  of ordinary citizens  have continued to hang in the balance , as insecurity ravaged the land.

Accordingly, the Catholic Bishops said they were  particularly saddened by the fact that the APC-led administration at the Centre has not taken advantage  of the opportunities that the 2015 general elections presented to the country, emphasizing further  that the Nigerian electorates at the period entrusted the present political leaders with their hopes and voted across religion and regional divides while the government seemed to have squandered  most of that goodwill  and created the conditions for the situation which the country has found herself.

The Clergymen noted further  that the ruling party remains riddled in internal infighting, adding that it has thus lost a sense of moral direction and urgency, while very little has happened to ensure  Nigerians that they have a stake in their own country and that the country  cannot successfully go into the next election circle in what they perceived as  this state of siege.

“Perhaps , except for the political elite and their collaborators, almost every segment of our population is angry and frustrated . Businesses are closing down, abandoned projects litter everywhere, retired pensioners still wait in vain  for their pensions, workers salaries remain unpaid, while health facilities  and public services  continue  to deteriorate  and life  remains hazardous  for citizens.

“It is hard to imagine   anytime that our people felt so angry , frustrated and betrayed by their elected officials . The nation can now feel the accumulated impact of this frustration in the agitation among various groups. We call on our political officials to make hay while there is still a little  shadow  of sunshine “, the Bishops maintained .

They also recalled with nostalgia that the youths , more than any single group in the country , did more to bring this Muhammadu Buhari –led administration to power, but pointed out that the youths have become its victims.

“Sadly, , very sadly the lot of the youths has not changed as unemployment still looms, just as a culture of strikes still endangers the future  education of many young people. And with the young people making up well over 50 percent of our population, we are sitting on a keg of gun powder”, they warned.

Furthermore, the Catholic Bishops  also expressed dismay that the Academic Staff Union of Universities{ASUU} has now become a bigger burden for both parents and their children whose future  hangs in a balance, arguing that ASUU’s season of strikes has undermined the credibility and value of education as well as seriously lowered the integrity of the academia .

“Whereas,  we encourage government to meet the agreements they have gone into with the union, we are most saddened that ASUU continues to place such a heavy burden on our children,” they  declared.

In the Communique with the theme: “There is time for everything”, the Clergymen joined millions of the citizenry  for answering  their collective prayers for President Muahammadu  Buhari , as they continued to pray that God will him the strength  and wisdom  to face the challenges that  the nation was bedeviled with in these difficult moments .

They also argued  that despite the daunting challenges, that   they were not unaware  that God sits on His throne and watches over His people {Psalm 47:  8} while appealing to Nigerians that in the remaining part of the year  to remain steadfast and prayed that “may Our Lady, the Queen of Nigeria continue intercede for our dear country”..

Meanwhile, among the states that made up Kaduna  Ecclesiastical Province include Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa,Niger, Sokoto  and  Zamfara states.

Also in attendance were   Very Rev. Father Michael Magaji{representing Bishop of Kafanchan, Most Rev. Dr. John Namaza Niyiring Osa{Bishopof Kano} Most Rev. Dr. Mathew Man’Oso Ndagoso{ Archbishop of Kaduna} Most Rev. Dr. Martin Uzoukwu{Bishop of Minna} Most Rev. Dr. Yohana Bulus{Bishop of Kontagora Vicariate} and Very Rev. Father Henry Atuma{representing  Bishop of Zaria}