David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi

Anglican Bishop of the Niger Diocese, Rt. Rev Owen Nwokolo, has criticised the Federal Government for allged failure to ensure equitable distribution of palliatives to cushion the effect of the stay-at-home order imposed to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

He claimed monies contributed by corporate and individual donors had not been evenly distributed, as some of the geo-political zones were shortchanged.

Bishop Nwokolo, in his Easter message at the All Saints’ Cathedral, Onitsha, Anambra State, yesterday, warned against the siphoning, diversion or misappropriation of monies meant for poor and vulnerable Nigerians who are trapped in the stay-at-home order.

“We only hear some of those things in the news, the palliative measures. The economy is biting hard on the populace. The palliatives should be distributed equally to all parts of the country. We hear they were sent to some parts of the North; even some of them in the North say the usual N5,000 they have been receiving does not come longer. The Federal Government should not be shutting down movements without palliatives to survive it. It is not a time to divert anything. Let those who have the responsibility of distributing those things spread them without hiding them from people who they are meant for or hoarding them,” he said.

He described Easter as a period of victory from principalities and powers and enjoined Christians to apply the philosophy of victory in all they do having in mind that with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, their victory was assured.

The Bishop whose sermon was: “Victory” said Christ had already given victory to Christians over COVID-19, adding that all they needed to do was invoke that resurrection power to overcome their challenges.

He cited the story of the Israelites who on their way to the Promised Land from Egypt found themselves between the Red Sea and the Egyptians’  army pursuing them “but God gave them victory over their enemies when He divided the  Red Sea through his servant Moses and the Egyptians they saw that day, they did not see anymore.”