Catholic Bishops carpet government over corruption

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria has carpeted the government over increasing corruption.
The Bishops, after their meeting in Abuja, said the rising cases of corruption has led to human rights abuses.
In a communique after their meeting in Abuja, the Bishops faulted the failure of the rulers to deploy the country’s resources for the good of all.
The communiqué, signed by Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, the President of the C, BCN, and Archbishop Alfred Martins, Secretary of the CBCN, reads in part: “To respect the dignity of a person is to concede his rights to him as fully human.
“We cannot fail to point out that the pervasive lack of accountability and transparency in governance in Nigeria has become a serious abuse of human rights.
“A government that is negligent in this regard, assaults the intelligence of the citizen; this, too, is a gross violation of human dignity.
“We call on leaders in every sphere of our society to be more accountable and more transparent in the conduct of public affairs.
“The lack of accountability, especially in the oil industry in Nigeria continues to give our country a bad name, impoverishes the citizenry, and threatens national security.
“It is a gross violation of human dignity that Nigerians, citizens of a richly endowed land, live in dehumanising poverty.
“That is why the government and the governed must renew sincere efforts to fight corruption and the theft and wastage of public funds in Nigeria.”