Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
News  

Facility deficit fuels discontent in South East, say Catholic Knights

By Lawrence Njoku (Enugu)
20 November 2015   |   3:19 am
The Knights of St. John International has linked protests in the Southeast zone to lack of infrastructure and long-term neglect. The order called on the Federal Government to initiate programmes to address the sorry state of roads, create jobs and provide security as a means of curbing social unrest in the zone. The Noble and…

church-iconThe Knights of St. John International has linked protests in the Southeast zone to lack of infrastructure and long-term neglect.

The order called on the Federal Government to initiate programmes to address the sorry state of roads, create jobs and provide security as a means of curbing social unrest in the zone.

The Noble and Exalted Degree, Colonel Peter Eloji, who spoke during the order’s national convention in Enugu, said that years of neglect by government was fueling unrest in the zone, stressing that the people needed a sense of belonging.

“It is really unfortunate to find ourselves where we are and we pray that government would do something to stop insecurity in the country. We condemn the killings going on in parts of the northeast, in whatever guise. The Federal Government should come to the aid of the southeast zone by rehabilitating roads. Several roads here are impassible and the situation is drawing the economy of the zone backward.

“Where there are no good roads, no employment for the teeming youths, who graduated from school, the result is social unrest. So I advise government to fix infrastructure in the zone to curb agitations by the people and create sense of belonging,” Eloji said.

Noting that over 300 members of the group, including seven Catholic Priests and four Bishops were conferred with the highest honour of the order, he stated that the organization had always warned her members in public offices to shun corruption and embrace truth, as it was the only way to positively impact the country.

According to him, the present fight against corruption would only achieve the desired impact with the cooperation of the people, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari alone cannot fight sustain the fight.

He called on Nigerians to exercise patient with the present administration and continue to pray for the economic survival of the nation, especially in the face of the economic crunch.

Noting that the order’s title, which was the highest honour conferred on any member of the catholic church, came into being in Nigeria in 2001 and had played significant role in the expansion of the catholic church, he added that the convention was an opportunity “to recapitulate and rededicate to the values of our faith and abiding in our Lord Jesus Christ, fight all forms of evil and reach out to one another in love.”

Eloji said the order stood against gay marriage, insisting that the Catholic Church was seriously against the act and had gone further to De-robe a Catholic Priest over the issue.

0 Comments