A former Archbishop of Anglican Diocese of Enugu, Rt Rev Emmanuel Chukwuma, has decried the degree of poverty facing Nigerians in the past nine years.
The archbishop therefore called on President Bola Tinubu to hold social dialogues with Nigerians to enable him to explain his government policies and get first-hand feedback.
Chukwuma made the call in Enugu during an interview. He said, “This government is hijacked by few who are not sensitive to the plight of Nigerians.
“Unfortunately, we have a rubber-stamped National Assembly that ought to do better. President Tinubu should think of what will benefit Nigerians at these difficult times.
“Poverty is all over the place. We have governments doing deficit budgets. They have enough money to squander. I think it is only the Nigeria Labour Congress and Mr Peter Obi that are saying the minds of Nigerians, but the leaders don’t listen to them.”
He advised politicians to return to their various constituencies and engage those that they represent.
In his words, “Our leaders should forget about their political parties as well as the 2027 general elections. It is greedy to be planning for a re-election instead of tackling our current problems.”
He called for a halt to the Tax Reform Bill before the National Assembly. In his view, “It is selective injustice. Government borrows money and taxes the people.
“The bill should be all-inclusive. Some people are taking Nigerians for granted.
“The Tax Reform Bill should be tabled for public deliberations across the federation. Many people don’t understand its implications.
“I don’t support it because it has not been explained to us properly.”
He blamed Nigeria’s electoral system for the country’s backwardness. He said, “Outcomes of elections in Nigeria do not portray the wishes of Nigerian voters. Electoral umpires are bribed and they compromise. We are simply in the wilderness.”