The Primate of the Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship) Worldwide, Most Rev Rufus Ositelu, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to aggressively combat corruption and insecurity in the country.
He also urged the President and the National Assembly to promote fiscal federalism and regional/zonal integration that would breed healthy competition among the component units of the federation.
Speaking on the occasion of the church’s (Tabieorar) 83rd celebration held in Ogere Remo, Ogun State, recently, the cleric said the church of God does not exist in a vacuum and, therefore, had the duty to speak truth to power at certain times, especially when there were serious issues calling for urgent attention of government at all levels.
According to a copy of the Primate’s address, which was made available to Adura International Magazine on Monday, he charged the government to harness the human and natural resources the country was blessed with for the good of all through good governance.
The address partly read, “Corruption remains the monster that has eaten deep into the socio-economic and political fabric of our society. The need to combat it aggressively has become more imperative. If we can effectively fight corruption, over half of our challenges will be over.
“Government must not relent in its efforts so far as corruption will definitely try to fight back. All and sundry should be involved in the fight against corruption and perpetrators should be prosecuted and dealt with in accordance with the law.”
Speaking on the issue of peace and security, Ositelu said the disturbing state of security in the country despite all efforts had made it necessary for the government to review the security architecture of the country, stressing that the primary function of government all over the world is to protect the lives and property of its citizens.
He added, “It behoves on the government to go the extra mile as it is now clearly required to bring to an end the continued wanton destruction of lives and property, senseless killings of innocent worshippers and burning down of places of worship, and maiming of citizens by insurgents.
“I hereby urge the Federal Government and federal legislators to consider the decentralisation system of policing by introducing regional/zonal and state/community police to deliver more effective and efficient service.”
The cleric also said the time was ripe for Nigeria to be restructured in order to ensure good governance, fairness, equity, justice, peaceful co-existence and economic development.
He added, “Fiscal federalism is the major antidote for many woes confronting Nigeria. With fiscal federalism in place, all the regional violent groups will seize to exist as they will not want to destroy the economy of their region/zone.”
While speaking on the economy, he said the Federal Government’s policy on diversification of the economy, if properly implemented, would go a long way to improve the economy especially in the area of agriculture and mineral resources.
He said, “The value chain in these sectors will create employment and generally boost the economy. Similarly, provision of adequate infrastructure, power, good road network, health care facilities is cardinal. The ongoing railway projects should be completed early, while the policy on the Ease of Doing Business should be pursued more vigorously in order to attract more investors.
“All hands must, therefore, be on deck to move our nation forward so that Nigeria can occupy her rightful place among nations.”
Ositelu, however, predicted that 2020 would be a year of reward and mixed fortunes.
He said, “It’s a year of regret, shame and sorrow for the wicked and evil doers, but a year of joy, comfort and contentment for the upright in Christ Jesus. My reward is coming quickly and everyone will be rewarded accordingly, whether good or bad. I am the Alpha and Omega, says the Lord God Almighty of the Holy Mount Tabieorar.”
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