• Hard times won’t last, Shettima tells Nigerians
• NLC demands responsive governance, tasks govt on workers’ plight

The Anglican Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Prof. Samuel Ike, and other prominent clerics nationwide have grieved over the pains Nigerians are experiencing due to a worsening economic and security situation.

However, Vice President Kashim Shettima assured citizens that the country’s challenges were temporary, expressing confidence that better days lie ahead under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded a more humane and responsive governance that prioritises the people, urging the government to be more sensitive to the plight of Nigerian workers and the general public.

In an Easter message he shared with journalists in Enugu, Bishop Ike also decried a report of the Global Terrorism Index released two weeks ago, which ranked Nigeria as the 4th most terror-affected country.

He admonished Nigerians to continue to show love and tolerance “in these trying times”, stressing that Jesus Christ gave his life to ransom all and sundry.

Reflecting on the Easter message, he charged Christians to imbibe the virtues of Jesus Christ, who gave his life for the rest of mankind, stressing that they should become “change agents”  to a dying, needy and decaying humanity.

Similarly, Bishop of Nike Diocese in Enugu State, Rt Rev’d Christian Onyia, urged Nigerians to embrace forgiveness, even as he lamented rising economic difficulties in Nigeria.

According to him, Nigeria stands at a crossroads with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 3.98 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, following 3.13 per cent and 4.23 per cent in preceding quarters, and the depreciation of the naira to over N1,400 per United States dollar.

AMID the nationwide hardship, the Vice President acknowledged the economic and security pressures facing citizens but stressed that the difficulties would not endure, urging Nigerians to remain hopeful and resilient.

In his Easter message, Shettima reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to restoring peace, stabilising the economy and laying the foundation for long-term prosperity, noting that “meaningful national progress often requires sacrifice and collective resolve”.

On the significance of Easter, the Vice President said the season symbolises hope, renewal and victory over adversity, reminding Nigerians that no period of hardship lasts forever.

IN its Easter message, the NLC argued that the use of state power to suppress workers’ rights, silence dissent or impose austerity that benefits a tiny elite while crushing the majority was a betrayal of the very essence of leadership and negates the spirit of the season.

The message, signed by the President, Joe Ajaero, and the Congress, called on Nigerian leaders to learn from the Cross, urging them to stop seeing governance as an opportunity for primitive accumulation of wealth but as a platform for sacrificial service.

According to the NLC, it is important that those who occupy positions of leadership understand that policies must be tools of liberation, not weapons of oppression.