Leadership (Abuja)
Sakin Babalola
27 October 2009
Ibadan — Despite the assurance of the Speaker of the House of Representatives allaying fears of the effect of the proposed deregulation, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Oyo State Chapter, Archbishop Joseph Akinfenwa has kicked against the proposed deregulation stressing that it would worsen the plight of the down trodden..
The Cleric posited that it was not the solution to Nigeria's ailing economy warning that it would lead into chaos if not dropped.
Mr. Dimeji Bankole Speaker of the House of Representatives recently assured that the Federal Government would put in place palliatives to cushion the effect of the proposed deregulation.
Most Revd. Akinfenwa who is also the Archbishop of the Anglican Archdiocese of Ibadan, stated in the Oyo State capital over the weekend that, the only solution to the revival of the nation's economy "is for the leaders and the led to be honest and have the fear of God at heart."
He opened his mind at the grand finale of the annual "Jesus Festival rally" of the Diocese of Ibadan held at Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan. "Jesus Festival," according to the Archbishop, is aimed at total transformation of church to enable worshippers imbibe the attributes of the Lord.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the celebration, the CAN President noted with concern that the Nigerian masses would suffer immensely if government went ahead with the deregulation policy.
He declared: "The church is warning now because if you deregulate, what else will the common man benefit? The regulation incidentally is the last benefit the common man benefits from the government. Every other thing has been yanked away - transportation, water, electricity have all been yanked away. We provide our generators by ourselves, we provide our water by ourselves, we provide our transportation by ourselves. The only thing that is remaining is this subsidy on fuel. And if you yank it away, then you have removed everything. So, what does the common man benefit? We don't benefit anything."
While maintaining that the orchestrated national transformation programmes must start from the church "if Nigeria will be better", Archbishop Akinfenwa enjoined christians all over the country to practicalise holiness in all they do or say. He also enjoined Nigerian politicians to have the love of the country at heart and imbibe the spirit of patriotism to halt the noticeable treasury looting and other acts of corruption that have hindered national development, in all its ramifications.
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