Review appointments to reflect national unity, Anglican Communion tells Buhari

NNEWI—CHURCH of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Diocese on the Niger, Sunday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to review his appointments in the interest of national unity by bringing in the best brains irrespective of ethnic, political or religious inclinations.

The church urged the president to without further delay, stop parading the degree of nepotism, corruption, insensitivity and impunity in his government and show concern about the suffering of Nigerians. President Buhari It also lamented the decayed state of infrastructure in the Southeast geopolitical zone, particularly the Onitsha –Umunya-Enugu highway and the Enugu-Port Harcourt highway, describing them as death traps and sad reminders of the Nigerian Biafra civil war. “We are sad that the Federal roads in the South east have continued to deteriorate. Almost all federal roads in the five Igbo speaking states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo are not motorable and with high rate of accidents occurring on them.” This was contained in the Bishop’s Charge delivered to the Third Session of the 30th Synod of Diocese on the Niger, presented by Bishop on the Niger, Rt. Rev. Owen Nwokolo at St Paul’s Anglican Church Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area Anambra State. Diocese on the Niger alleged that “the Federal Government has maintained a conspiratorial silence over matters that concerned the Southeast zone and deliberately allowed almost all the infrastructural facilities in the zone to fail, including the Oji River Power Station that was supplying constant electricity to the people of the defunct Eastern Region.” The Diocese also expressed dissatisfaction with the way war on corruption is being executed, describing it as “a woeful failure where a privileged few are anointed political prophets who walk the street of world capitals enjoying their loots, while the weak and helpless Nigerians are being chased about by government’s anti –corruption machinery “ The Church in the Synod Theme titled “Take your cross daily and follow me”, called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, led government of President Buhari to embrace restructuring as the solution to the nation’s intractable problems, adding that” restructuring will ensure political, social, religious and economic stability, since it will not be affected by religion and nepotism” “In line with the ongoing clamour for political restructuring in Nigeria, we make bold to say that Anambra State politics also needs restructuring. While we endorse the zoning arrangement where the Anambra North, Central and South senatorial zone agreed to take turns in governance, based on mutual agreement reached by the State elders and leaders of thought, we equally recommend that the same structural arrangement be considered for religious denominations. “We propose that for justice, equity and fair play to reign in Anambra state politics, the Anglican Church should produce the next Governor of Anambra state, after the present administration, and therefore urge all political parties to present Anglican from the Anambra South Senatorial zone for the next governorship election in 2022. “Anambra State is predominantly a Christian state, populated by two main denominations-Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, however, since the forth Republic, the South Senatorial Zone has taken a slot of four years, through Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju, 1999 to 2003, the Central has taken the governorship slot for eleven years through Dr Chris Ngige, 2003 2006 and Mr. Peter Obi 2006 to 2014, while Chief Willie Obiano’s tenure of eight years for the North Senatorial zone, 2014 to end in 2022. “We are supporting that the Anambra South Senatorial zone would take next turn to produce the Governor of the state after Governor Obiano, from the foregoing, it is obvious that the Roman Catholic will at the end of Chief Obiano’s tenure would have taken the governorship slot for a period of nineteen years, while the Pentecostal, through former Governor Mbadinuju, had a slot of four years, without the Anglican Church occupying the seat.”