FEDERAL Government has been charged to improve the living conditions of its populace.
Speaking at the 1st Session of the 12th Synod of the Diocese of Ife Anglican Communion with the theme: Building Godly Investment for the 21st Century Church at the Cathedral Church of St. Philip, Ayetoro, Bishop Olubunmi Akinlade said FG needs to do the needful and also reduce the cost of governance with such savings should be spent on infrastructure and provision of employment.
Akinlade said Nigeria, is a country abundantly blessed with human and natural resources, it has the largest economy and population on the African continent saying yet we are not where we expect to be.
According to him, the hope of many Nigerians has metamorphosed into hopelessness and the future appears very uncertain for individuals and the country. Nationhood and a common sense of identity is still a mirage.
He said the corruption at every level appears unabated, probably even on the rise noted that political class has continued to pay lip service to fighting corruption, rather, the looting the country’s common patrimony is engendered by bogus and non-beneficial projects.
“The economic and social indices for the country are still quite dismal. The poverty rate is estimated to have reached 38.9% in 2023, with about 87 million Nigerians living below the poverty line.
Nigeria churns out about 3.5 million people into the labour force every year, sadly many do not find the jobs and almost 40% of recent graduates are jobless.
“The average Nigerian is having a tough time eating a decent meal. With a bag of rice at around N80,000, a bowl of Garri above N1,000 and bread has now become an occasional treat, many Nigerians are hungry, angry, and desperate.
Despite being well-intentioned, the economic policies of government to remove fuel subsidy and float the naira has done incalculable damage to the earning power of the average Nigerian.
