Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has dismissed the idea of a possible future merger, and has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and others to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
This was following his resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) on March 10, citing a misalignment of values with the ruling party.
In a recent interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai pleaded with the politicians to join SDP to defeat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
The Presidency on Friday, had said that the 2027 general election was not Tinubu’s current focus, but how to improve the economic conditions of every Nigerian.
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday in a statement on X on Friday, said “President Tinubu is not worried about the next election. He’s worried about the shared prosperity that he can bring to Nigerians.
“He’s worried about how the reforms he has put in place will yield necessary impact. He is concerned about what happens to the economy of this country eventually. That’s the focus. “We’ve seen our foreign reserves go up. We’ve seen inflation come down. We’ve seen our trade surplus go up.
“We’ve seen exports go up and imports drop.
“We’ve seen the investments that have been attracted -over 50 billion. We are seeing prices dropping.
“We have clear data and you have a President that is clearly in the driver’s seat, and he has stayed the course of the decisions he has taken.
“And I think that the next election is not really in his view right now.
“It’s how to make sure that at the end of his first term, he can sit back and say, look, “I have impacted the lives of Nigerians. I have turned this economy around”.
However, El-Rufai during the interview with the BBC, called on the trio of Obi, Abubakar and Aregbesola to form a political alliance with him towards the 2027 elections.
“My wishes and prayers are Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf, all opposition leaders to come and join SDP, not to do a merger or to register a new political party,” he said.
“What pains me is that the government we supported and had confidence in would do well because we saw what Tinubu did in Lagos despite his challenges,” he said.
“We all know about his issues in Chicago, but we thought if he could replicate his work in Lagos for Nigeria, let’s support him. However, he failed.”
El-Rufai clarified that his presidential political ambition in 2027, would depend on the party and the will of the people.
“It is not for me to decide; it is the party and the people that will decide. Even when I was contesting for governor, it was people that met and convinced (Muhammadu) Buhari, and he called me and asked me to contest,” he said.
El-Rufai downplayed the idea of merging political parties or forming a new one.
Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, has asked Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President of Nigeria, and Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to unseat the ruling party in 2027.
El-Rufai, who was speaking during a recent interview with BBC Hausa, also said there was no intention of merging political parties.
The former Kaduna State governor underscored the need for Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola to ally with him toward the 2027 elections.
He said he was not interested in forming a new political party or a merger but a united force ahead of the 2027 elections.
El-Rufai claimed he had worked hard for the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2023 due to his antecedents as governor of Lagos State, hoping the president would replicate his achievements in Lagos for Nigeria, and argued that the present administration has failed.
El-Rufai, in a statement released on Monday via his Facebook account, had expressed disappointment at what he described as the APC’s departure from its core values, stating that recent developments within the party have shown an unwillingness to address internal challenges.
He confirmed that he had formally submitted his resignation letter to his ward in Kaduna, effective immediately, following consultations with political allies across the country.
After he resigned from the APC, the Kaduna chapter of the party said it was not bothered about the defection of Nasir El-Rufai to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
“We are unperturbed by former governor Nasir El-Rufai’s defection to another party. Our focus in Kaduna is on how to deliver the state to both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Uba Sani come 2027,” the APC Kaduna chapter said.
In a swift response, the presidency said President Bola Tinubu was placing priority on urgently improving the lives of Nigerians and not the 2027 general election.
The Presidency explained that President Tinubu was focused on what comes out of the reforms he instituted and how beneficial they have been to the growth of the nation’s economy.
It maintained that the reforms have started yielding results, as seen in the country’s growing foreign reserves, the dwindling inflation rate, and the growing trade surplus.
The presidency argued that the country’s exports have gone up and importations have dropped significantly, with investments attracting over $50 billion.
Writing by Oluwaseyi Ajibade; Editing by Tony Okerafor
Lie! I have testimony from people that used it in the past few weeks. They had issues with the toilet and generator (and those are being fixed), but it was working.
OALandAgents: Title should be that: FG announces ... after Senate approval
Wrong! The FG did not officially announce. It was the Senate that announced. A spokesman of the president simply tweeted about the Senate's announcement.
3) But government cannot spend any money or take any loan, or receive any grant that requires counterpart funding without the approval of the National Assembly. The Senate could decide not to approve it, could change things, etc.
4) The Senate has announced that it has approved that China Development Bank will be the financier of the project.
Tunaji: What about Akure to Lagos rail too, don't we deserve something like this as well?
Well, we are anxiously awaiting the South West Regional Development Agency to act in this regard. They should just not associate with Odu'a Investment cos I heard they were planning to share the same building. They should set out on their own.
The plan by the Buhari Administration was to connect all state capitals to the rail network and to connect all sea ports to the network.
Akure will be taken care of when the Ibadan to Abuja line is being constructed.
OALandAgents: Why does it seem that I am the only person finding it odd that it is the senate and not the Ministry of transort or the presidency making this anouncment? Naija has been destroyed!
The person that made the announcement (Dada Olusegun) is the spokesman of the president. The Presidency has already commented on this months ago, but it goes nowhere unless the Senate approves it. The Senate has approved it.
1) Western Line: The Western Line was the first line that was built by the Colonial Government. The primary reason for building it was to transport raw materials and agricultural goods like Al-Hassan Dantata's groundnuts from Kano to the port in Lagos.
The line begins at the Lagos Terminus in Iddo (there's also a branch line to the Apapa Port) and goes through Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin, Kaduna and terminates in Kano. It is a narrow gauge line.
The Western line began with the Lagos-Ibadan line which was built between 1891 and 1896, it reached Kano in 1912 and it was later extended to Nguru in 1930.
2) Eastern Line: The Eastern Line was primarily built to move coal from Enugu to the port at Port Harcourt. Port Harcourt was also built for the same reason (to serve as a port for the shipment of coal). Coal was shipped to Great Britain and to the power plant at Ijora in Lagos.
The Eastern Line was extended to Jos, to move tin from the tin mines there and it was also connected to the Western Line in Kaduna. The Government of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa extended the Eastern Line to Maiduguri. It is a narrow gauge line.
The Eastern Line began with the Port-Harcourt to Enugu Line that was built between 1913 and 1916. It was extended to Kaduna in 1927 and it was later extended to Maiduguri between 1958 and 1964.
3) Central Line: The Central Line was constructed by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida (construction began in 1987). It was built to convey iron from the iron mines at Itakpe to the steel mill at Ajaokuta and to convey the steel from Ajaokuta to Warri Port. It is a standard gauge line. The line was not completed.
There have been plans to build new standard gauge lines on the western and eastern axis, along the same corridor as the old narrow gauge lines.
The government of President Goodluck Jonathan began the Kaduna-Abuja rail line on the Western Axis. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari completed it and also built the Lagos-Ibadan line on the Western axis. The Government is currently building the Kano-Kaduna leg of the Western Line. When that is completed, all that will be left is the Ibadan-Ilorin and Ilorin-Abuja segments of the line.
The Government of Muhammadu Buhari also completed the Warri-Itakpe Line (the Central Line). There are plans to extend it to Abuja.
The Muhammadu Buhari Administration had declared that it would focus on completing existing projects, rather than starting new ones and so it focused on completing the Western and Central Lines. There is also a plan to build a standard gauge Eastern Line (Port-Harcourt to Maiduguri) but that has not commenced yet (which has caused annoyance among people of the North-East and South-East).
There is a proposal to build a coastal line, from Lagos to Calabar, but it hasn't been built yet. Critics complain that the colonialists were only interested in exploiting resources from Nigeria, rather than giving Nigerians good infrastructure and that's why they built rail lines from the hinterland in the north, to the ports in the south. For example, the critics point out that if you want to go from Lagos to Enugu by rail, you'd first have to go all the way up to Kaduna, before you can get to Enugu.
When I heard this criticism back in the 1980s, I often asked, "So why haven't we built it? The colonialists have been gone since 1960, so why haven't we built a rail line from east to west? We can't keep blaming them".
naptu2: The Buhari Administration began the Kaduna - Kano leg of the Western Line and the Tinubu Administration will finish it.
President Tinubu has gone to China to finalise the deal for the construction of the Ibadan - Ilorin and Ilorin - Abuja legs of the line.
The idea to build the Eastern and Western standard gauge lines was conceived during the administration of President Obasanjo. Yar'Adua did not follow through, but Goodluck Jonathan continued it.
The Central Line was conceived during the administration of President Shehu Shagari. It was started by the Babangida Administration and finished by the Buhari Administration. However, the Buhari Administration proposed that it should be extended to Abuja.
I'll tell you about Lord Harcourt later.
naptu2: The Eastern Line goes through places like Port Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Makurdi, Jos, Bauchi and Maiduguri.
The Western Line goes through places like Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jebba, Minna, Kaduna and Kano.
The Central Line goes through Warri, Abraka, Agbor, Igbanke, Agenebode, Uromi, Ajaokuta and Itakpe.
In the first map below, the narrow gauge lines are in purple and the standard gauge lines are in red.
The senate, yesterday, has announced the China Development Bank as the new financier for the project paving way for its completion over the coming months.
The former financier, the China Exim Bank, had earlier backed off the project in 2020 citing Covid-19 pandemic among other issues as reasons bringing about delays in its completion.
The railway, a standard-gauge line stretching 203 kilometres, will link Kano to the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Reminder that President Bola Tinubu had earlier assured that the Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano railway project would be completed to satisfaction as he continues to build on the success of his immediate past predecessor @MBuhari in railway revolution.
Reverend Father Mathew Hassan Kukah (as he then was) was secretary-general of the Catholic Secretariat in the 1990s and early 2000s. Father George Ehusani was his deputy. If I remember correctly, the Catholic Secretariat was in Onikan, Lagos back then.
Father Kukah was also a member of the Human Rights Verification and Investigation Panel (aka Oputa Panel).
Someone called Yomi Tokoya brought a petition against Hamza Al-Mustapha and others. He claimed that they kidnapped General Abacha, prevented him from seeing Abacha and that they later had him arrested.
During the hearing of the petition, it was discovered that Yomi Tokoya was a propagandist who published books and other works to praise Chief MKO Abiola during good times and then published works to condemn him when he fell out with government.
Mr Tokoya also published works in praise of General Ibrahim Babangida when Babangida was president and then published works to condemn him when he left office.
It was discovered that it was Abacha that told Al-Mustapha and his ADC not to allow Mr Tokoya into the Villa ever again. In fact, Mr Tokoya was embarrassed by Major Al-Mustapha's lawyer.
Father Kukah wondered how people like Yomi Tokoya could get easy access to the Villa when it was difficult for him (as secretary general of the Catholic Secretariat) to book appointments for the Catholic Bishops Conference to see Abacha.
naptu2: 1) The visit has nothing to do with anything that happened in the USA. The meetings of the Catholic Bishops Conference are organised a long time before the meetings are actually held. The bishops are busy people and travel arrangements have to be made.
Furthermore, the Catholic Secretariat usually books an appointment for the bishops to see the president. The president is also a very busy person and such visits are organised well ahead of time. This visit must have been planned months in advance.
2) Members of the Catholic Bishops Conference have been having regular meetings with the president/head of state after their twice-yearly meetings for almost 40 years. I remember their meetings with Presidents Babangida, Obasanjo, Yar'Adua, Jonathan and Buhari. Here are some examples:
3) The fact that the Catholic bishops are visiting the president does not mean that all other bishops from all other denominations must visit the president. That just doesn't make any sense. These are members of a specific organisation called the Catholic Bishops Conference and you shouldn't expect to see non-members in the delegation.
4) The Catholic Bishops Conference does not endorse candidates for elections, neither do they endorse politicians. I created an entire thread about it here.
5) Anyone that has a message for the president that is different from the message of the Catholic bishops should book an appointment with the president and go and tell him the message. (We haven't yet even seen an account of what was discussed at the meeting, yet strange people are saying all kinds of things).
THE JUBILE YEAR OF HOPE: A LIGHT FOR A NEW NIGERIA
A Communiqué issued at the end of the First Plenary Meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) at the CSN Resource Centre, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Durumi, Abuja, 8 -14 March 2025
1. PREAMBLE
We, the Catholic Bishops’ of Nigeria, held our First Plenary Meeting for the year at the CSN Resource Centre, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Durumi, Abuja, from 8-14 March 2025. Having prayerfully deliberated on issues affecting the Church and the Nigerian State, we issue this Communiqué:
2. THE JUBILEE YEAR OF HOPE
The Holy Father Pope Francis on 9 May 2024 issued the Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 titled, Spes Non Confundit (“Hope does not disappoint” Romans 5:5). With this document, the Holy Father invites the whole Church to reflect on and embrace the virtue of Hope. In his words: “Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the Cross” (Spes Non Confundit, 3). The Jubilee Year of Hope invites the whole world to a new impetus for renewal. It also presents the Church with a profound opportunity for introspection and renewed commitment to its mission within both the Nigerian and global contexts. It serves as a rallying call for renewed catechesis, scriptural literacy, and authentic Christian witnessing, ensuring that the Church remains a beacon of light to the society (cf. Matthew 5:14-16). In spite of the numerous challenges of the modern times, there is still a firm basis for hope. We are invited to embrace the virtue of hope with the certainty that it does not disappoint. The Lord is ever faithful to his Word (cf. Romans 8:28).
3. THE STATE OF THE NATION
(i) Positive Developments and Some Challenges
Our nation has recently witnessed some positive development. These include the reinvigoration of the Petroleum Industry, the rehabilitation of some dilapidated roads and the construction of new ones across the nation, the introduction of the student loan scheme, the new minimum wage, and the reduction in the debt service-to-revenue ratio and the proposal for new tax regime.
The Nigeria Correctional Service Act 2019 was a landmark in the history of prison services in Nigeria. It was a shift from the perception of the prison as a centre for retribution to a “correctional” facility with focus on reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration. We commend some cheering strides made by governments at various levels to promote agriculture. We equally appreciate the efforts of some security operatives, who put their lives on the line to fight the criminality and put an end to their savagery. We pray for healing for the wounded and eternal life for the dead. In spite of all these, our nation still has some serious challenges bordering on harsh socio-economic situation, persistent insecurity across the nation, rising youth unemployment and restiveness. There is high cost of essential goods, including food. Cases of kidnapping and the mindless killing of innocent people still abound.
4. THE WAY FORWARD
(i) Need for Unity and National Integration
We invite all to always pursue actions that make for unity and national integration. Again, we request our political, religious and traditional leaders to promote the spirit of national integration in the citizenry in order to instill hope and development. We demand that those governments that ordered the closure of all schools in some parts of the country, withdraw such order in the light of the rights of the children to education and the multi-religious nature of our society We, as Church, promote integral education, health care and agriculture for individual and national development, and we require the enabling environment to play these roles among others.
Despite disappointments in the conduct of 2023 General Elections, we still encourage all eligible citizens to come out en masse and participate in future elections. We call for a strengthening of electoral laws and sincere execution of duties by state agents such as Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies and the courts in order to restore trust in the electoral system. We urge our people to refuse to be cowed to silence and helplessness, but rather insist always on doing the right thing and having it done.
(ii) Some Insights for National Growth
For the provision of security of life and property in our nation, we urge that governments at all levels deploy high technology, like is already done in some states, to complement the efforts of security agencies for efficient intelligence gathering. There is also need for good remuneration for security personnel, better equipping of our security outfits and determination to prosecute crime without fear or favour. We still stop call on government at all levels to create an enabling environment for job opportunities in an ongoing manner. More investment is needed in agriculture to facilitate the involvement of the youth in it and boost provision of food in a sustainable manner. With improved security and safety for farmers, there will be greater production of food and reduction in the escalated cost of food all over Nigeria. We reaffirm the stand of the Catholic Church that capital punishment is unacceptable (CCC2267), we therefore make a passionate appeal to the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu especially in the light of the Jubilee Year of Hope, to grant pardon to Mr Sunday Jackson whose conviction was recently upheld by the Supreme Court.
⚫️To improve on the State of our custodial centres, we enjoin the Federal and State Governments to undertake the following:
⚫️ Uphold fundamental rights of inmates, treating them with dignity and adopting non -custodial measures in deserving cases.
⚫️ Expedite the dispensation of justice.
⚫️ Decongest the existing correctional centres by granting parole to well-behaved minor offenders.
⚫️ Rehabilitate the existing facilities, and
⚫️ Construct new correctional centres to ease overcrowding.
5. SPREADING A LIGHT FOR A NEW NIGERIA
The Jubilee Year as enshrined in the Book Leviticus 25 was a time of restoration, freedom and renewal. It was a time when debts were forgiven, captives were released, and the land was given rest. The Jubilee of Hope invites us to be agents of renewal, arising from restoration and freedom. We are called to be the light that dispels the darkness hovering over our land, which necessarily begins with each of us, from our homes to our Churches, from our workplaces to our government institutions. The desire for a New Nigeria must commit to truth, justice and love. We, therefore, call on all to be true to our worship of God, eschewing external religiosity and competition geared towards religious superiority or supremacy
While we put our hope in the Lord and continue to pray for a better nation, we must all play our prophetic role to create a new Nigeria by bringing about the necessary change and so rekindle hope once more in our nation. To bring our people back from the brink of despair, we must start with a clear call for a radical change of attitudes, and a veritable spiritual revolution. We have the spiritual resources to undertake this mission in the genuine values of Christianity and Islam the two major religions practised in our land.
Above all, to create a New Nigeria and rekindle hope among the populace, our nation needs political leaders of a high moral profile, who are able to administer public goods in line with the principles of honesty, transparency, and accountability (Ecclesia in Africa no, 111). As a purveyor of hope, the Media must resist obsession with reporting bad news at the expense of balanced reportage, which highlights what is happening in the society with equal passion. We enjoin the Government and security agencies to see the Media as partners in nation building.
6. EVENTS IN THE CHURCH
In union with the whole Church and the entire world, we pray for the Holy Father, Pope Francis, in this critical moment of ill health. We continue to pray for his speedy recovery. The Synod on Synodality, which dominated the attention of the Church from 2021 – 2024 was concluded with the approval of the Synod’s final document on 26 October, 2024 by Pope Francis. We are now at the implementation stage. Local Churches and groupings of Churches are invited to imbibe and implement in their context the authoritative indications contained in the Documents.
The Church in Nigeria as well as the Nigerian State is indeed happy to welcome the Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, His Excellency, Most Rev. Michael Francis Crotty. He arrived the country on 23 October 2024. For him, we pray for a fruitful and pastorally ministry in our midst. Likewise, we congratulate Very Rev. Fr. Michael Leke Banjo, who assumed the Office of the Secretary General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria on 1 January 2025. While wishing him a wonderful tenure, we thank the former Secretary General, Very Rev. Fr. Zechariah Samjumi, and wish him all the best of luck in his future endeavors.
We received with great sadness but with hope in the resurrection the news of the death of Most Rev Ayo- Maria Atoyebi, OP, Bishop Emeritus of Ilorin on 8 March, 2025. We convey our condolences to Ilorin Diocese, the Dominican Friars, and the Atoyebi family, with the assurances of prayers for his repose and the consolation of all who mourn him.
7. CONCLUSION: THE SEASON OF LENT AS A JOURNEY OF RENEWAL
As we begin the Lenten Season we pray with our Muslim Brethren who are observing the season Ramadan. The Season prepares us Christians to better embrace the virtue of hope. It invites us to repent of our sins and misdeeds against ourselves, the Church and our Country. It calls us to purge ourselves of our cynicism against the possibility of a better Nigeria. By this we are enabled to spread the light within the various segments of the society. May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven, spreading the joy and peace of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, throughout the earth. May it ignite in us a renewed faith, and may the light of Christ guide Nigeria to a future of peace, prosperity and righteousness. May our Blessed Mother, Mary ever Virgin, accompany us in this holy season, and may we emerge from this journey renewed, purified, and victorious. Amen.
+Lucius Iwejuru UGORJI +Donatus A. OGUN, OSA Archbishop of Owerri Bishop of Uromi President, CBCN Secretary, CBCN
President Tinubu to Catholic Bishops: I Understand Your Concerns, but We Have to Build a Nation
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that he fully understands what Nigerians are going through but that the present economic reform is necessary to build a resilient country and guarantee our children's future.
The President said this Friday in Abuja when he received the Catholic Bishop's Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
President Tinubu highlighted the importance of citizens and leaders investing in the nation to build a strong society. He emphasised that poverty affects everyone regardless of religion and called for collective efforts to fight it. He stressed that the tax reform presented a good investment opportunity for citizens to build their nation.
"Yes, removing the fuel subsidy was hard, tough for me, but it's a hard choice that Nigeria must face. We are not going to bankrupt our country.
"We were spending the investment of the future of our children yet unborn; We were spending their rights, and poverty has no religious basis. There's no religious colouration, no identity. It affects all, and we must fight it together," the President emphasised.
On the request to return mission schools that governments have taken over, President Tinubu said schools are subnational entities, not owned by the Federal Government.
"I've been a good example as the governor of Lagos state. I returned all the mission schools".
President Tinubu commended the Catholic body's commitment to education and healthcare.
He added that he set up NELFUND to ensure that no student dropped out of school due to a lack of funds for tuition fees. He promised to look at ways to help students of private institutions that NELFUND does not cover.
President Tinubu noted that the security agencies were already curtailing the nation's insecurity, stressing that adherents of all religions felt the impact of the efforts.
"This insecurity, everyone is affected, Christians, Muslims alike. I have no religious bias; I won't be a bigot. My wife is a pastor of Redeemed Christian Church. But we have to think of our country; this country must develop and must stand beyond religious bigotry. And I'm here open to you, ready to listen.
"We've been together for some time. We have an open-door policy. I will not shut my door."
The President thanked religious leaders for their prayers, as the country is already witnessing a better deal and a newfound optimism. He highlighted the competition among operators in the petroleum sector, the bountiful harvest enjoyed by farmers, and the lower prices of commodities, adding that investments are flowing into the country.
"There is hope; people are coming in to invest. They are saying good things about Nigeria. I am very proud of that. What seems to be a very difficult beginning is now showing us hope. And we are not half-time yet. I'm happy to see this period alive and healthy, and I am thankful to all of you for your prayers.
Most Reverend Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, the Archbishop of Owerri and the CBCN President, who led the delegation of 20 Bishops from across the country, said they were at the State House to congratulate President Tinubu on his victory, having not had the opportunity last year, and to commend him for his efforts to reposition the country and share some concerns.
"Your government's policy mantra is anchored on the principles of Renewed Hope. In this regard, we are pleased to inform you that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has declared this year as the year of hope, the Jubilee Year of Hope, a theme we adopted for our conference. We came with the final fruits of our deliberations and will share them with you."
He said the removal of fuel subsidies had undoubtedly affected the people and commended the tax reform initiative, which he believed would "generate, in the long run, more resources for advancing the common good."
He acknowledged the efforts of security agencies to curtail insecurity in the land. Still, he urged for more concerted efforts to "rekindle hope and inspire confidence in the hearts of our people."
The Bishops called for a well-defined vision of religion as a force for moral integrity and patriotic unity without necessarily impinging on individuals' fundamental rights.
According to them, "efforts should be made to ensure that religious practice in Nigeria fosters unity rather than division."
On religious pilgrimages, the body said that government should hands-off sponsorship to curtail waste and corruption.
"The government should allow religious groups to take full responsibility for organising pilgrimages. In their current structure, the national and state pilgrims' boards serve neither their adherents nor the broader interest of the nation. You're undoubtedly aware of the instances of corruption that have led to the removal of some board executives to ensure greater efficiency and accountability.
"We would propose that public funds be redirected towards pressing national needs," the CBCN President said.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, who was also at the event, recalled his attendance at the Charismatic Bishop Conference in 2024, emphasising the need for the nation to remain together, to be united, to be focused, and to maintain support for the government, even in the face of temporary hardship.
"It is no news that in any reform that happens in all parts of the world, temporary hardships are usually experienced. And we're happy to note that today, not only does the federal government have more money to spend to bring about the kind of promises that the President made at the very beginning, but also to ensure that the future, according to the President, as he always says, the future of our children and the children yet unborn, will not be frittered away."
Mohammed said security had greatly improved in the nation. "In 2023, I know how difficult it was to move from Abuja to Kaduna; it is almost impossible just to take your car, fuel it, and begin to go on that road. Today, this is not the case. We know that farmers used to find it extremely difficult to go to the farms. We know that this has not completely gone away, but it is a reality that today, no one asks questions to move from Abuja to Kaduna or any part of the North."
He said the national value charter that the President championed in his 2025 New Year message will soon be launched to ensure that Nigerians come together to reclaim our lost values.
He added that the National Orientation Agency is working to ensure that both religions teach the Bible and the Quran in our schools and the return of civic education.
The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, also attended the event.
Issues raised by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN).
Sunday Jackson
Sunday Jackson is a farmer from Adamawa State. He was working on his farm one day when he was allegedly attacked by some knife wielding people. He managed to overpower one of them and killed him. He was arrested and charged with murder.
In 2021 the high court found him guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging. He appealed the judgement.
His appeal went through the Appeal and Supreme Courts and on Friday, March 7th, 2025 the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence.
Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria was established in 1977. It is made up of all Catholic bishops in Nigeria. They usually meet twice a year and then they publish the results of their discussion in a communique.
Some of the issues that they discuss require the intervention of government and since the late 1980s I have watched them go to Dodan Barracks and later the Aso Rock Villa to present the results of their discussions to the President/Head of State.
Death Sentence
The CBCN have appealed to President Bola Tinubu and Governor Ahmadu Finitiri to intervene and ensure that Sunday Jackson is not executed. They expressed surprise that he was sentenced to death, especially since the Adamawa State law has provisions for self defence.
Closure of schools during Ramadan
They also expressed concern about the closure of schools in Northern Nigeria during the Ramadan period. They stressed the importance of education and also talked about what they have done to promote education in Nigeria.
Return of missionary schools
The CBCN called for the return of all missionary schools that were seized by the Federal Government in the 1970s.
(President Tinubu said that the schools are now owned and under the jurisdiction of state governments, so he can't do anything about it. He reminded the CBCN that he returned missionary schools in Lagos when he was governor).
Religious pilgrimages
The CBCN said that government should not be involved in religious pilgrimages. They said that it is a waste of public money. They noted that several officials of the pilgrims boards have been removed for stealing money that was meant for pilgrimages.
Security
The CBCN noted that there was an improvement in the security situation and they sympathised with security agents that have been killed and injured while trying to bring peace. However they noted that more still needs to be done and that the problems are not over.
Economy
They also noted that there is an improvement in the economy. They welcomed the tax reform bill, but they also noted the suffering of people after the removal of petroleum subsidy.
Congratulations
They congratulated the President on his election victory and said that they weren't able to see him after their meetings in 2024, so this was the first time that they were seeing him after the elections.
Politics › Re: El-Rufai Asks Atiku And Obi To Move To SDP by naptu2(op): 9:04am On Mar 16, 2025
