Catholic Bishops Urge Jonathan to Stop Reckless Borrowing and Fight Corruption

Nigerian Catholic Bishops concluded their annual conference, Friday, with a call on the Federal Government to curtail its penchant for obtaining loans- both domestic and foreign.
The Bishops, under the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, stated this in a nine-point communiqué they issued in Umuahia, venue of their conference.
Reckless borrowing, the clerics said, “would adversely affect proper economic growth and mortgage the future of our country.”
The Bishop’s voice is lending weight to the accusation by several Nigerians that the Federal Government, under President Goodluck Jonathan, and various state governments were involved n reckless borrowing.
The most recent of these loans was that announced by the Minister of Finance on Thursday that Nigeria had secured a 1.1 billion dollar loan from the Export Import bank of China for three key projects.
The Bishops called for caution by the various governments in obtaining foreign and domestic loans.
Fight corruption courageously
In the communiqué titled “Promoting authentic development in Nigeria,” the clergymen asked Mr. Jonathan to step up the Federal Government’s fight against corruption.
They urged the government and anti-graft agencies to muster the courage and sincerity to fight the scourge.
The clerics expressed concern that ‘’very little’’ had been done to thoroughly investigate and prosecute top government officials and prominent Nigerians allegedly involved in the fuel subsidy scam.
They called a governance that would ‘’entail active and critical participation of the citizenry in the formulation of policies and in their implementation.’’ They also asked the government to education and enlighten the citizenry on the political and economic choices government makes on behalf of the people.
‘’This will constitute the appropriate response to the people’s right to good stewardship, transparency and accountability,’’ the clerics said.
Wake up from your slumber
Another major issue of concern to the clergymen was the current insecurity in Nigeria as they advised the Federal Government to be more vigilant in its efforts to checkmate terrorist activities in Nigeria.
They said being more vigilant, especially at the borders, would help Nigeria check “any foreign sponsors of terrorist activities.
The bishops sad kidnapping, murders, and armed robberies, have left many killed and maimed in different parts of the country.
They called on security agencies and the government at all levels to “wake up to their duties to protect and defend the life and dignity of everybody in the country”.
The bishops said the “patient response’’ by Christians “in the face of sustained attacks on Christians and churches’’ was ‘’not borne out of cowardice”.
They said that Christians were acting with patience because of “universal Christ-like love, religious maturity and genuine patriotism.’’