The Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, Akwa Ibom State chapter, has called on President Bola Tinubu and state governors in the country to be alive to their responsibilities amid the teething hardship and insecurity.
In a statement by the state chairman, Barr Godknows Njoku, and the Vice Chairman, Comrade Eridiong Obong, on Sunday, the group noted that increasing cases of hardship-related suicides across the country was a reflection of how difficult it has become for Nigerians to survive and meet their daily needs.
“The rate of hunger occasioned by increasing inflation has become unbearable and can lead to a civil crisis. Unfortunately most of our politicians live in affluence while the masses wallow in poverty and hunger,” the statement added.
The organization called on security agencies to increase efforts to curb the country of insecurity, describing last week’s abduction of more than 250 students of a secondary school in Kaduna State as an indictment to security agencies in the country.
It also called on Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State to address the increasing spate of violent crimes in Uyo and its environs as the ugly trend is beginning to discourage settlers and residents and has posed a threat to investors in the state.
“Kidnapping, robbery and murder even in broad daylight has now become very common in Uyo and other parts of the state and this was not how it used to be. So we are calling on the state government and security agencies to do something about this,” it said.
It asked the state government to also do more to ensure the release of the remaining corps members and an AKTC driver abducted more than six months ago by bandits in Zamfara State on their way to their orientation camp in Sokoto State.
It also called on the government to exercise more political will in dealing with issues of cutting cost of governance, expressing lack of faith in the government’s pledge to implement the Orasanye’s Report as it relates to reducing cost of governance.
The organisation expressed fears that given the various negative signals the government has shown, “such as buying SUVs at N160m each for every member of House of Representatives and the Senate, building of new Residence for Vice President, sponsoring of over 1000 delegates to COPP 23 in Dubai,” the implementation of the report may not see the light of day.
On the recent agreement between President Tinubu and Governors for the establishment of state police, the CLO called for a thorough review of the modalities.
It asked the Federal Government to look into the bigger picture of implementing the report of the 2014 CONFAB especially on the practice of True and Fiscal Federalism which also covered the establishment of state police and other institutions that would enable each state to run as a semi independent entity and cater for its peculiar needs.
The organisation called on the populace to go about showing their grievance over the state of the economy lawfully as the law would not exonerate anyone who goes against it.
