The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria is concerned about the increased hardship faced by Nigerians due to the current administration’s reform agenda.
Lucius Ugorji, the President of the CBCN, expressed this concern during the 2024 First Plenary Assembly of the CBCN in Abuja.
He mentioned that inflation has made it difficult for ordinary Nigerians to buy basic necessities like food and medicine, and he blamed the government’s reform agenda for exacerbating the situation.
He mentioned that due to the removal of fuel subsidies and the merging of the foreign exchange market, there has been a significant rise in the price of petroleum products at the pump and a sharp decrease in the value of the naira.
Because of the government’s reform efforts, he noted that many Nigerians have been pushed into extreme poverty, intense suffering, and severe hardship like never before in the country’s history.
To survive, he also mentioned that more and more poor people have turned to begging, with over 80 million Nigerians living below the poverty line of less than two dollars a day, according to a recent report from the World Bank. This makes Nigeria the country with the world’s second-largest population of poor people after India.
He said, “While many impoverished Nigerians continue to suffer and die as a result of the hardship caused by the government’s economic reforms, the president has continued to urge the populace to make even more and more sacrifices with the assurance that brighter days lay ahead.”
He mentioned that Nigerians were hoping for a significant reduction in government expenses at all levels, especially since the government was asking for more sacrifices from the struggling population.
Regarding security, the bishop pointed out that despite the monthly allocation of funds for security purposes, communities were still facing ongoing insecurity issues. He highlighted the recent increase in kidnappings for ransom and rising incidents of violence nationwide.
