The Catholic Church, on Wednesday, tasked the Federal Government to subsidise food items and stop giving palliatives to a few individuals in the country.
The church made the call through Archbishop Gabriel Leke Abegunrin, Catholic Archdiocese of Ibadan, when speaking with newsmen at the Justice, Development and Peace Commission, in Ibadan.
According to Abegunrin, instead of giving palliatives to a few people, who will convert them to private use, it will be better if the government subsidises the costly food items in the markets to make them affordable for the masses.
He said: “If the food items are subsidised, it will go round and eventually reach Nigerians. We often hear of palliatives being distributed but we never see them. We hope that the social welfare package should be extended to citizens of the state.
“We would also like to see funds allocated for the good of the people to be used for the purpose and not the endless accusations and counter-accusations that our political leaders continue to engage in, in the hallowed chambers.”
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Archbishop Abegunrin added that the economic crisis is further compounded by much distress and anxiety occasioned by the linking of Bank Verification Number, BVN and National Identification Number, NIN.
“While the government may be well-intentioned, the implementation has caused much distress and anxiety. After the cashless policy and scarcity of Naira in 2023, the banking sector must not be seen again as causing pain and stress to citizens who want to have easy access to their money,” he said.
Speaking on the wave of kidnapping and banditry, he posited that the Federal Government is lying to Nigerians.
“They once said they have identified those sponsoring banditry and they have failed to bring them to justice. Economic hardship often leads to deviant behaviours; many communities have resorted to policing their communities, especially at night.
“The government is called upon to ensure that the various security outfits in the state provide security for all and sundry. If this is lacking, individuals will resort to jungle justice as we have been witnessing in recent times,” he said
