The Federal Government has been charged to urgently carry out a critical reappraisal and review of all its economic policies, and stop playing with the lives of the citizens.
Presiding Bishop of Rhema Christian Church and Towers, Taiwo Akinola, on the silver jubilee anniversary and convention of the church at in Sango Otta, Ogun State, said this should be done with a view to ascertaining which of the policies has significantly contributed to the unexpected negative impacts and hardship Nigerians are currently experiencing:
“Government cannot afford to play politics with the lives of the citizens. We are all aware that economies grow in focused, secure, hard-working and friendly environments. Thus, hard line policies and befuddling body languages will never help the economy, they will rather scare investors away. It is important for government to fine tune these policies and dispositions with the clear aim of navigating the economy out of recession.”
The clergy painted the gloom and pathetic state of the economy, which include companies closure, workers not being paid their salaries while some are losing their jobs, prices of essential commodities on the increase and becoming increasingly unaffordable.
He lamented that the economy has gone into avoidable recession due to a number of factors, including corruption, lack of proper coordination and unsteady economic and fiscal policies of the Federal Government:
“We believe that God has the answer to all questions of life. During our convention from November 6-13, we will be praying for the restoration of our country, and we urge all to join their faith with ours.
“We also share the views of other concerned Nigerians that the Federal Government, as part of the efforts aimed at alleviating the impact of the recession, must release money into circulation to enhance the purchasing power of the people. This we believe could also be achieved by ensuring that workers are paid as at when due.
“There must also be renewed efforts towards addressing the epileptic power supply and the bad roads, both of which have significantly hampered growth and development of the nation. Furthermore, our fiscal policies must be worked upon in the direction of salvaging the naira from its free fall against the dollar.”
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari in the fight against corruption: “There must not be any sacred cow across the board. And, just as the government appears to have reinvigorated the anti-corruption agencies to fight corruption, we are of the view that more energy should be channeled towards forging proactive measures aimed at preventing the crime rather than waiting to spend scarce resources on unending investigations and prosecutions.”