By Cosmas Omegoh
Members of the Nigerian Catholic Diocesan Priests’ Association (NCDPA) yesterday rose from their 33rd Annual General Meeting at St. Leo’s Catholic Church, Ikeja, Lagos, with a call on government to provide the youths with quality education and shun nepotism in their dealings.
After their five-day meeting whose theme was “The Foundational and Holistic Reorientation of the Nigerian Person: An Urgent Imperative for the Church and State,” over 300 participating priests touched on various issues affecting the nation.
In their resolution which was jointly signed by Very Rev. Fr. Sylvester ONMOKE, National President, and Rev. Fr. Francis IKHIANOSIME, they recalled that “…the tripod of education, namely; intellectual, technical, and ethical formations – stand on the ground of spiritual formation.
“Here, the human person acquires the competence to relate with his or her infinite design for the truth, the good and the efficient; God.”
They pledged “to maintain our unalloyed loyalty to the Church, uphold our true priestly identity and untiringly promote the unique fraternity of the Catholic priesthood. Without equivocation, we resolve that we will intensify our passion for transforming lives through the Gospel, by feeding God’s people with well-prepared homilies and catechetical instructions.”
Thereafter, the priests reminded all that “every Nigerian has a right to good education and should have unrestricted access to basic formal education namely, primary and secondary education.
“Educationists in schools must be well equipped with sufficiently qualified and meaningfully remunerated teachers for the task of forming the students.”
They went on to enjoin that “all state institutions should stand up to their responsibilities of providing adequate security, making appointments devoid of nepotism and sentiments, to promote authentic patriotism as enshrined in the National anthem and the pledge.”