The Diocesan Bishop of Lagos, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. Ifedola Gabriel Okupevi, in his New Year message, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to do everything possible to reduce hardship in Nigeria, as it is not novel to say that Nigerians are living below the poverty level.
Okupevi, who spoke in Lagos, yesterday, said according to National Bureau of Statistics, 133 millions Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor while 63 per cent have no access to healthcare services, education among other rights.
“We cannot hide the fact that the year 2023 was very challenging economically for the citizens of this nation, irrespective of class, gender and status, which was further aggravated by the fuel subsidy removal with its attendant effects of an unprecedented general increase in the price of goods and services across the nation.”
“The inflation trend and its damaging effects on human purchasing power were equally unprecedented in the year,” he said.
He, however, called on Nigerians not to lose hope, as he called on the political class to be sincere and harness all available resources God has endowed the nation to tackle and revamp the economy.
He also drew attention of the government to the need to step up its action on security as the issues of kidnapping for ransom and ritual activities are not healthy for the nation.
He called on the government to promote the dignity of hard-work and honesty in the New Year as he again called on political leaders and the church to remember the poor because of the high level of poverty in the land.
He prayed for peace in Nigeria, Israel, Ukraine and ofther nations that are troubled.
