- Condemns rising rape cases, banditry, killings
Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt
The Diocese of Evo, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to freeze all the accounts of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) because of monumental corruption going on there.
The church made the call in a in a communique issued yesterday at the end of the second session of the fourth Synod of the Diocese which held at St. Matthias Anglican Church, Atali in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State with theme: Stronger and Better Together
The church also called on Buhari to immediately intervene to bring sanity to the commission.
It also frowned at the rising incidence of cases of rape and sexual assault in the country and called on government at all levels to take steps to check the menace.
The church expressed concern over the extreme poverty and the environmental pollution in the Niger Delta region despite the resources at the disposal of states in the region and the NDDC.
The communique was signed by the Bishop of the Diocese, Rt. Rev. Innocent Ordu; the Chancellor, Nlerum Amadi and the Clerical Synod Secretary, Rev. Can. Gospel Onuchukwu,
In its communique, the church expressed disappointment that the NDDC, which was supposed to be an interventionist agency, had turned out to work against the people.
The diocese, therefore, called on Buhari to freeze the accounts of the NDDC, and carry out a total overhaul of the commission and the Niger Delta Ministry.
The church said the steps had become necessary because of the alleged monumental corruption in the commission and key officers of the National Assembly who were supposed to carry out oversight functions on the interventionist agency.
It said, “Synod condemns the level of alleged corruption involving members of the board and management of the NDDC and key officers of the National Assembly in the finances of the commission and there calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately freeze the accounts of NDDC and carry out a total overhaul of both the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and the NDDC.”
It also expressed concern over the spate of insecurity in country, particularly “the unwarranted killings in the Christian-dominated Southern Kaduna in Kaduna State; armed banditry and activities of Boko Haram in the Northern parts of Nigeria; the menace of herdsmen, armed robbery and kidnappings in the entire country”.
It therefore called on the “Federal Government to wake up from its deep slumber and end the bloodbath and restore the sanctity of life, and also the international community not to keep quiet over the security situation in Nigeria”.
On COVID-19 pandemic, the Diocese of Evo noted that it had exposed the extent of neglect and decay of the healthcare delivery system and facilities in Nigeria and the urgent need to overhaul the health sector.
It therefore called on everybody to observe the recommended preventive measures by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federal Ministry of Health against the pandemic.
