Lagos — The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN) has taken a look at the state of the nation and declared that Nigerians were now living in apparent hopelessness. It blamed this on the economic and socio-political situation in the country in which the major social structures are in the throes of death.

A statement by Church's Director of Information and Public Affairs, The Rev. Kalu U. Eme, said the organisation in a communiqué issued at the end of the quarterly meeting of its General Assembly Executive Committee (GAEC), lamented "the comatose state of affairs" in the power supply, education, health, transportation and manufacturing sectors as well as the high rate of corruption, crime and social ills, insecurity, unemployment, religious and political crises and ethnic discrimination, etc. It called on the three tiers of Government to reflect on this state of affairs and brace up for more responsive governance to enable Nigerians derive fully the benefits of the beautiful democratic practice the nation is operating.

The communiqué, signed by the Moderator of the General Assembly, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ubon Bassey Usung and the Principal Clerk, Rev. Ndukwe Nwachukwu Eme, condemned the planned deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry by the Federal Government, and described as a national disgrace the fact that Nigeria imports refined petroleum products despite being the 6th largest producer of crude oil in the world. It re-stated its stand that the solution to the perennial crisis in the downstream sector of the oil industry comprised the elimination of sharp practices in the system, the reactivation of all the refineries in the country and the creation of enabling environment for the private sector investment in refineries to facilitate the local refining of the nation's petroleum needs which will in turn create jobs and have a multiplier effect on the economy.

The Church also called on the National Assembly to endeavour to conclude work on the Electoral Reforms and Constitution Review Bills before it as the success or failure of the General Elections of 2011 will depend on the successful review of the electoral system and the Constitution. With regard to the Constitution review exercise, the Church urged the National Assembly to enshrine in the new Constitution, the principle of true Federalism in which each State of the Federation will control the resources within its bounds. Other important issues to be looked into include States Creation, the Immunity Clause and the need to strengthen the status of Nigeria as a secular State where all religions thrive side by side and no particular religion rules.

On the Niger Delta crisis, the Church commended President Musa Yar'adua's amnesty initiative which has succeeded in restoring relative peace and security in the troubled region. It also commended ex-militants in the region for embracing the amnesty offer and accepting to pursue the path of peace, reconciliation and development. The Church cautioned that the amnesty achievement was only the prelude to the solution of the Niger Delta crisis and urged the Government to follow it up with short-term and long-term youth development programmes to empower the youths and make them to manage their businesses successfully. Development projects should also be embarked upon to transform the oil-producing communities that have been ravaged by years of neglect and ecological degradation.

The Church lamented the very deplorable condition of roads in Nigeria , particularly the Lagos-Benin expressway, the roads linking South-East with Ikot-Ekpene and Calabar, the Port Harcourt-Enugu expressway and other major roads in the country. It recalled Governments' usual promise that roads construction and rehabilitation would be carried out during the dry season and reminded the Governments that the dry season had set in and that the nation was awaiting the fulfillment of its promises this time around in order to restore people's confidence.

The Church expressed goodwill to all Nigerians on the occasion of the approaching Christmas season called on all and sundry to reflect on the life and work of Jesus Christ and aspire to emulate Jesus' example of sacrifice, selfless service and commitment to the salvation of humanity. These, the Church stressed, were the virtues needed to build a truly great nation which Nigeria desires to be.