The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) is calling on President Bola Tinubu’s government to provide an account of the savings resulting from the fuel subsidy removal in the initial nine months of his administration.
The bishops raised concerns about the absence of functional refineries despite substantial expenditures on turnaround maintenance, resulting in a persistent dependence on fuel imports.
The bishops described the government’s efforts to address the mountainous issues, as “counterproductive” and a “therapy worse than the disease.”
Speaking through the president of CBCN, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, during the opening session of the 2024 First Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday, the bishops described the current situation in the country, as the “worst of times” in its history.
Archbishop Ugorji accused the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of mortgaging the future of Nigerians yet unborn with unmitigated borrowing without showing what they are used for.
He said, “In withdrawing the fuel subsidy, the government assured Nigerians it would save a lot of money to be injected into other national development sectors.
“Rather than give evidence of money so far saved from the withdrawal of subsidies for which Nigerians are being afflicted with untold hardship, all we hear is the government’s accumulation of more and more foreign debt to balance its budgetary deficit, thereby mortgaging the future of our nation and generations yet unborn.
“This has led many Nigerians to conclude that all the extensive talks on fuel subsidies may be mere fairy tales.
“Nigeria owns four refineries, two in Port Harcourt, one in Warri and one in Kaduna. How can we explain that these four refineries have remained moribund for years, despite turn-around-maintenance efforts, which have continued to gulp huge sums of money?”
The Archbishop drew attention to the stark realities facing Nigerians, emphasizing the persistent insecurity and economic turmoil, despite substantial security votes.
“If we cast a cursory glance at the present state of our nation, we are inclined to conclude that this seems to be the worst of times for our country in the areas of security and the economy,” he said.
According to him, kidnappings for ransom, senseless killings, and the rise of banditry have left communities across Nigeria in the grip of fear and paralysis.
“Unarmed citizens are brutally slaughtered on our highways, in their homes and even in the sacred precincts of places of worship. Killer herdsmen, bandits and unknown gunmen seem to be on rampage.
‘’Many communities across the nation have been taken over completely by criminals. Families have lost their ancestral lands to armed invaders and land-grabbers,” the Archbishop lamented.