The Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, The Most Rev’d Dr. Henry C. Ndukuba, has called on the Nigerian government to develop a new people-oriented constitution.

He made this call today at the official opening of the Standing Committee meeting of the Church of Nigeria holding at the St. Andrew’s Basilica Anglican Church, Trans Ekulu, Enugu State.

Archbishop Henry noted that everyone knows that Nigeria as a Nation is beset by a number of nagging issues, some of which have recently come to the fore and have been ventilated by various groups in the country especially with the recent Endbadgovernance protest.

“We are convinced that while our National Assembly has done well in the amendment of the Military-bequeathed Constitution, Nigeria is due to have a New Constitution which will be made by the Sovereign Assembly of the peoples of Nigeria. This New Constitution will take into consideration the concerns already expressed int the Sovereign National Conferences and the various calls for the Restructuring of Nigeria. Shying away from doing this amounts to postponing the Dooms day.”

The Primate added that the only foundational legacy that President Tinubu’s administration need to lay is a solid foundation for Democratic Governance and give Nigeria a Civilian and Democratic Constitution that will address the root causes of the xenophobicagitations of the citizens.

He also noted the unique Endbadgovernance protest was held despite lacking an identifiable leadership or clear set of demands and in spite of the spirited efforts of the Federal and State governments to avert it. This was a clear indication that the people are tired of constant but failed promises by government to stem the rising cost of living which hasimposed severe hardship on most households in the country. Furthermore, the often-amplified calls for understanding and sacrifice by those in authority while their lifestyle, actions, display of affluence and luxury in the midst of scarcity for most people, does not help matters. The protest is a clarion call to governments at all levels, especially the federal, to heed the cry of the people, and not scapegoat anyone as no government can legislate or stop people who are hungry from protesting.

Hoisting of Russian Flags: The Church frowns at thehoisting of Russian flags in parts of the country by some protesters. This is unacceptable. It is a slide from the norms of protest in Nigeria and appears to be a play at unconstitutional change of government which we strongly condemn. We believe that this ill-advised gambit if not checked, can lead to a breach in our democracy. This incident should be fully investigated to ascertain and deal with causes and the instigators of this crime. Unfortunately, it could be that there are some sacred cows behind this incident, as it seems to have been swept under the carpet. We call for action to mitigate future occurrence.

Living Wage: The Church felicitate with the President and all Nigerian workers on the signing into law of the new minimum wage of N70,000 (Seventy thousand Naira). This is a commendable development. However, we call on the government to extend the scheme to cover pensioners, many of whom are living on starvation wages. There is need for a review of pensions every 5 years as provided by the Constitutive Law on pensions.

Attention to the Pensioners: Governors have often conditioned payment of pensions on verification of senior citizens. The constant verification of pensioners makes them the most ‘verified’ demographic in Nigeria. Yet, pensions are not paid, or are interminably delayed. This anomaly should be addressed to save those who have given their all in service of the nation and who the government has abandoned in their times of need. Those in authority today should be reminded that the staff of today are the pensioners of tomorrow. We urge the National Assembly to criminalise the non-payment of pensions to entitled persons as and when due.
Attention should also be paid to the most vulnerable segments of the society, particularly, the unemployed, the aged, young unemployed or skilled male and female adults. The latter is the engine room of every society. There is therefore an urgent need for an articulation of appropriate policy and programmes tocater for this often-forgotten segment of the population or imperil the future of the country. When you see the numbers on our streets, you will agree that the need is URGENT. A declaration of emergency in Social Welfare in Nigeria may not be out of place. While we commend the distribution of palliatives, the corruption in the system must be tackled.
Scourge of Insecurity and Banditry: Incidents of kidnapping and banditry have continued, despite the sworn determination of government to stem the tide. No society can ensure effective and enduring development without security. It is indeed the primary duty of government to do more in ensuring the security of lives and property and stave off food insecurity that this parlous situation has engendered. We must however not fail to salute the courage and sacrifices that members of our security and armed forces for thenation daily. Our porous Borders, the Master of Corruption which endemic in Nigeria, the Erosion of Good Moral Values and the Greed filled selfish leadership contributed and are part of the Insecurity of Nigeria. We long for a New Nigeria where no citizen is oppressed.

Energy Security: We observe with concern the endless drudgery to which citizens have been subjected to as a result energy deficit. The epileptic power supply in spite of the privatisation of this sector and tariff reviews, the astronomical rise in the cost of petroleumproducts (PMS), diesel (AGO) kerosene and cooking gas, have made life much more difficult. Manufacturers are groaning from the excessive cost of energy and therefore closing down or retrenching their workers into an already overstretched labour market; small and medium scale businesses are struggling and some are even being killed by poor safety and ethics in operating alternative sources of power like gasoline generators.Poor households are not guaranteed 5 hours of electricity daily nor can they afford the already very expensive petroleum products, owing to the frequent scarcity in most cities. It is in this context that the Church salutes the coming on stream of the Dangote refinery. We have taken cognisance of the impediments the company has complained of, and the position of both the NNPCL and the regulators, MDPRA.
The government should prioritize the interest of citizens. There is need to explore the establishment of modulating refineries and activating the existing ones and support them. Nigeria has the capacity to be a leading Petroleum crude exporting as well as exporter of refined products. Dangote and others building refineries should be granted incentives, even if not onthe same scale.

The Compressed Natural Gas Project: We applaud the government for the mainstreaming of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), as an alternative to fuel, for use bytransport vehicles. This will have a knock-on effect on the cost of transportation and movement of farm produce from the interior to urban centres. Our expectation is that the rollout will be phased to cover the entire nation. More importantly, the promotion of the use of Gas for domestic cooking at a very affordable price, will help the common man. Just as electricity is supplied to homes and residences, gas can also be developed and distributed to homes and industries as is obtainable in developed economies.
Local Government Autonomy: We applaud the recent Supreme Court decision granting autonomy to the local government areas in the country. It is our hope that this ruling will have a multiplier effect in the sectors of education, health, and food security across the 774 LGAs of the nation. It should also be able to arrest the rural-urban migration. We call for a whole-society approach in monitoring its implementation as the project cannot be left in the hands of politicians alone. In doing this, there is a need for a robust financial security architecture to police allocations to the LGAs lest they become another layer of financial hemorrhageto the society and thus, thwart the expected gains from this experiment.
The SAMOA Agreement: The Church has elected to monitor the implementation of the SAMOA Agreement of 15th November, 2023, between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific States to ensure that it does not contain any obligation on the part of Nigeria for the adoption of Same-Sex Marriage Protocol, despite the assurances of the Federal government to this effect. This is because same-sex practice is contrary to the doctrine of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, and we express profoundly our objection to this practice in any way, shape or form.

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