The Catholic
Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev. Paulinous Eze Okafor has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prioritize the fixing
of the national power supply and adopt sincere
onslaught against corruption as the ban of any meaning economic development.
He stated this at
a media briefing to mark this year Nigeria 55th independence
anniversary, said nation development would not be complete without adequate
power supply and virile political will to fight corruption.
‘’ One the Issue
of the state of or economy to grow, I will want the federal government to take
very seriously the issue of power, there is no way we can move any inch without
power in Nigeria
If you don’t have
power there no message you want to preach to Nigerians that will sink into our
ears, all what we need is power.
I remember. The
former administration told us what it will take the administration to fix power
and mention amount of money it will take, they stayed there for many years, and
they told us the much spent without telling us the work done, because what we
want is power
Nigerians are
interested in having this LIGHT, even if it matter cutting down other expenses
to make sure he fix light issue for Nigerians, because, once it is there, jobs
will come up.
I want the
government to give us light, once they give it to us , let them leave the rest
to us as a nation and I see no reason why that can not be done, the money is
there’’.
The clergy
extolled the virtue asserted to fight Boko Haram insurgent by the President
Buhari led administration and urged him to extend such strength to other zones
of the country with related insecurity challenges.
Bishop Okafor
faulted approach by successive government in handling the issue of federal
roads maintenance and repair and other frastructural development accrued to South Eastern part on Nigeria but called for probe of previous contracts awarded
in the zone which will drive a new dawn for fresh contract awards to the South
East.
‘’ I also want to
federal government to look at corruption, because I think the ban of all thing is this
corruption’.
‘Today NNPC did
this and that, you are getting wealth, you did not know what you get per a day.
How can you run such a system you not know the number of barrels you produce,
people are stealing left right and centre , so if you check all these, the
President has been talking of fighting corruption, I want him to act fast to
combat the menace’.
‘He should not be
mindful of opposition, because the decay has been on for long, but countries
did ot and they are now enjoying it now, he should be ready to face strong
opposition.
‘’ When we talk
of Enugu Onistha express way we are not happy at all.
‘The federal
roads in the country, at least this part of the country, it has been a
perennial problem’.
‘Sometimes, you
do not know who is fooling who, sometimes you will her that thy want to invite
Julius Berger to construct roads here and our own people will say they prefer a
certain company to carry out the construction works’.
‘All said and
done, if the government has the will they can take a stand on who to give the job when and how, because at the end of the
day it’s the federal government that would be blamed where it partin to federal
roads and federal facilities’.
‘The other day,
we went to Port HARCOURT for a meeting, it was a terrible grid lock on the way, if you move through
Aba, no way, if you move through Elele no way. Every road was blocked
completely’.
‘Unfortunately, from same Elele. To Rivers state was completed
but our own from there to Imo state was there seeking attention to be fixed’.
‘One is not very
happy the state of our federal road but the state ones is very wonderful. But the state road here are wonderful, neatly
fix, especially the roads here in Anambra state’. .
He lamented about the decay experienced in the nation aviation sector, called for a holistic overhaul
of the sector to restore the depreciating glory back as other countries of
Africa are currently enjoying.
‘When they talk
of National carrier, this is a shame that a country like Nigeria has no
national carrier. because if I want to travel I must go through another country
first, if you want to use British Airways, you must go to Britain first before
you go to your destination, if you also choose KLM or LUFTHANSA, you will just
first go to Germany of Holland before you continue you journey. Even Namibia
has a national airline, and a country like Nigeria does not have a national
carrier yet.’’ He lamented.
