The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume, has urged Nigerians to trust President Bola Tinubu in his bid to turn around the economic fortunes of the country.
Akume appealed on Tuesday at the opening of the fourth quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) in Abuja.
The meeting which brought religious leaders and faithful together had “Restoration of Hope in Nigeria” as its theme.
Akume said the essence of Tinubu’s administration was to rekindle hope in the citizens, hence, the “Renewed Hope” mantra.
He said as the government pursued the agenda of renewed hope, a time would come when graduates would be gainfully employed.
“I, therefore, call on Nigerian citizens to trust the incumbent administration of Tinubu as he will do all that it takes to address the challenges of hunger and poverty.
“With our human and natural resources, Nigerians have no reason to live in penury; the government will not weaponise religion and ethnicity as you can see in the appointments so far by the president.
“We are laying a foundation that will put smiles on the faces of citizens. This is why we call for renewed hope. Let us live in unity to a point that though tongue and tribe may differ, in unity we must stand,” he said.
Akume urged media practitioners to rekindle hope in the people and be circumspect of messages that could bring despair.
In his remarks, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop Daniel Okoh, said Nigeria faced numerous challenges that shook the very core of unity and stability in the country in recent times.
According to him, those who cannot bear the situation migrated to other nations in search of greener pastures in what is commonly known today in Nigeria as “Japa Syndrome”.
Okoh stressed that the solution was not in running away to other countries but in finding ways to restore hope to the citizens of our dear country, Nigeria.
He added that Nigeria remained blessed with an abundance of human and natural resources more than many nations of the world.
The archbishop, however, said there was a need to get it right on the management of resources for the good of all, saying that governance was key.
“We must get to that level where Nigerians would be convinced to have faith in those in governance and by the grace of God, we shall get there.
“For this to happen, we must all develop a culture where transparency and accountability are celebrated, a system where public officers are held accountable for their actions and inactions during their tenures in office or after leaving office,” he said.
The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar, said the councils would always tell the government and the people the truth patriotically.
He said that Muslims and Christians must work together to defeat the common enemy of the country.
The Executive Secretary of NIREC, Rev. Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua tasked government officials with the need to rekindle new hope in the citizens.
“During this dry season, Nigerians aspire to have a foretaste of the renewed hope by seeing tractors mending all the dilapidated state and federal roads in Nigeria, ” he said.
Omonokhua said that it remained the hope of many that very soon, the refineries, iron and steel industries along with other areas of development would soon attract necessary attention.
“Nigerians want to witness uninterrupted power supply as a sign of hope; we pray for a country that has a conducive place for human habitation.
“We pray for a nation where the citizens will be meaningfully engaged so that the devil will not give jobs to the youths as an idle mind is the devil’s workshop,” Omonokhua said. (NAN)
