Restructuring: Set aside pride, consider Confab reports – Catholic Church urges FG

The Catholic Church has urged the federal government led by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo to set aside pride and collaborate with the National Assembly in the review of the recommendations of all past dialogues and national conferences.
According to the Church, such moves will give birth to acceptable solutions, in a peaceful way, to the ongoing issue of agitation for secession spearheaded by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) among other issues of public interest.

The position was disclosed in Abuja by the International Director of Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria (CCFN) and Executive Secretary of Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey, in a communiqué issued on Sunday after a meeting of statutory provincial coordinators’ of the two agencies of the church.
While joining other progressive forces to call for the restructuring of the country and demand for national dialogue, the Church said: “The Provincial Coordinators of Caritas Nigeria and JDPC, covering the nine ecclesiastical provinces that are coterminous with the Nigerian states and LGAs, call on government and all its agencies to look into the root causes of the clamours and set the stage for a national dialogue involving the agitators.

“The restructuring of the country should commence with the evolution of some laws from the resolutions reached at the 2014 National Conference.

“Caritas Nigeria and JDPC enjoin government to set aside its pride and collaborate with the National Assembly to study the recommendations of all past dialogues and national conferences in order to give birth to acceptable solutions in a peaceful way.
“Therefore, we join other well-meaning Nigerians to call for the restructuring of Nigeria by making laws on the far-reaching resolutions reached at the 2014 National Conference.”
“Nigeria, being the pride of Africa, should show the world once again that the Black race was capable of employing rational and peaceful methods to negotiate difficult stalemates.

“Nigeria should not give credence to the stereotype that Black Africa was incapable of suppressing violent emotions.”
The meeting also condemned all actions and misguided utterances from any section or group in Nigeria which tended to threaten the peace and unity of the country.