BY SUNNY A. DAVID
President, Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Archbishop Augustine Akubeze, said the federal government would lose legitimacy if it fails to respond rapidly to the current security challenges in the country.
He spoke on Sunday in Abeokuta, Ogun State at the Second Plenary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) tagged “Abeokuta 2019.”
The Archbishop condemned killings of some Catholic Priests, saying the situation called for serious intervention.
“If the leaders of a country cannot ensure peace and security, they have no business using tax payers’ money to provide security for themselves and their families while the rest of Nigerians are dying daily”, Archbishop Akubeze said.
He asked President Muhammadu Buhari to stop what he termed “minimalistic approach to appointments.”
The Archbishop argued that Buhari’s appointments lack diversity whereas Nigerians crave for national integration of every part of the country “in sensitive positions at the Federal level.”
Archbishop Akubeze , who is the Archbishop of Benin, submitted that “the minimalistic approach does not fulfil the spirit of total integration of every Nigerian.”
He urged to review his appointments with the aim of assuring Nigerians that “appointments into positions of importance are not based on the number of the people who voted for you from those areas.”
“The President is the president of every Nigerian. He has the same obligation to those who voted for him as well as to those who did not vote for him.
“He uses the taxes of people who voted for him and those who did not vote for him.
“Therefore, equity is expected in appointment of persons to Federal agencies. Nigerians reject a minimalistic approach to this issue.
The Chairperson of the conference, Prof. Catherine Eromosele, decried the continuous holding of Leah Sharibu and other kidnapped victims in the custody of the Boko Haram insurgents.
Prof. Eromosele appealed to the catholic clerics to mount pressure on the federal government to ensure their release without further delay.
Caption: President, Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Archbishop Augustine Akubeze.
