By Emeka Nwokocha
Citizens Rights Concern Enhancement Initiative has called on President Bola Tinubu and the 36 States Governors to put their acts together and address the prevailing challenges besetting the country, aggravated by worsening insecurity, unbearable hardship, excruciating poverty, intolerable rising cost of living and seeming uncontrollable depreciation of value of naira.
The group made the call via a press statement, on Friday 23 February 2024, in Effurun, headquarters of Uvwie local government council, Delta State.
The statement which was signed by the principal officers of the group, comprising Amb. Edewor Egedegbe, BOT Chairman, Dcn. Monday Enudi, National Coordinator, Activist kelvin Ejumudo, National Secretary, and Comrade Harrison Itulua, National PRO, stated that since democracy was relaunched in Nigeria in 1999, spanning about 25 unbroken years, socioeconomic growth of the country has taken a nosedive resulting from poor governance.
The statement further stated the chequered Nigerian political system has continually groomed a coterie of unpatriotic politicians whose stock in trade is majorly to squander the common wealth of the citizens and toss the future of the people around like pawns on a chess board, in the guise of democratic governance.
Expressing worry over the free fall of the value of naira, the group charged President Bola Tinubu and the 36 States Governors to clamp down on unscrupulous citizens taking undue advantage of the shambolic Nigerian economy and increase prices of commodities astronomically and subjecting poor Nigerians to untold hardship.
The statement reads:
“As members of a non-profit, nongovernmental organisation known as Citizens Rights Concern Enhancement Initiative also known as Human Rights Protection Congress, we are conscious of the trajectory of development across the country and would bravely comment on teething national issues with a view to prevailing on the government of the day to right the wrongs bedeviling the country.
“On that premise, we recall that since the Nigerian democratic government was relaunched in May 29, 1999, spanning about 25 unbroken years, socioeconomic growth of the country has taken a nosedive occasioned by poor governance by successive administration till date.
“In similar order, our chequered political system has continually groomed a coterie of unpatriotic politicians whose stock in trade is majorly to squander our common wealth and toss the future of the people around like pawns on a chess board, in the guise of democratic governance.
“Lacking good conscience, our politicians would make a plethora of promises today only to turn around and do another thing tomorrow which would not add value to the lives of the Nigerian people.
“Suffice to say that staring us in the face currently, is the growing concern of the populace over the prevailing challenges besetting the country and being aggravated by worsening insecurity, unbearable hardship, excruciating poverty, intolerable rising cost of living and seeming uncontrollable depreciation of value of naira.
“Against the backdrop of this disturbing scenario, while the good and law abiding citizens of our country continue to endure this hardship and attendant insecurity ravaging the society, we strongly and passionately make the following demand to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, GCFR, the 36 States Governors, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other agencies of government, to mitigate the troubles agonizing the Nigerian people without further delay:
“President Bola Tinubu and the 36 States Governors should as a matter of urgency put their acts together and address the increasing hunger and hardship battering the citizens.
“President Bola Tinubu and the 36 States Governors should as a matter of national priority, cut down the cost of running the government by slashing allocation to recurrent expenditure.
“We are saying “No…No…No” to the use of tax payers’ money to fund public officers’ domestic activities and profligate lifestyles.”
The statement further stated:
“We charge President Bola Tinubu and the 36 States Governors to support and implement community policing in order to curb the incessant crime and criminality ravaging the country.
“We seriously call on President Tinubu’s government and the 36 States Governors to clamp down on dubious persons responsible for the hyper inflation and “dollarization” of the Nigerian economy at the ‘expense’ of naira.
“We also call on President Bola Tinubu and the 36 States Governors to clamp down on unscrupulous citizens taking undue advantage of the wobbling Nigerian economy to exploit Nigerians through astronomical increase of prices of commodities and subjecting poor Nigerians to untold hardship.
“Most importantly, we call on security agencies to be proactive in the discharge of their duties and discard unproductive kinetic techniques in fighting crime, such as brute force which has not been able to nip insecurity in the bud over the years.
“We call on the Federal Government to ensure that the three Refineries come back to full production capacity within the next three months. This will help to reduce the cost of petroleum products, thereby reducing cost of goods and commodities across the country.
“We call on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to be people-centric in their engagement with government in resolving the poverty snags ravaging the country, using different approaches, not strike or protest action alone.
“We call on the federal government, states and local governments to be humane while addressing this malignant situation strangulating the country, so as to avoiding a total break down of law and order; and
“Above all, we are calling on Nigerian citizens to continue to show resilience and patriotism in the face of this cataclysm hurting the polity.”
