ARCHBISHOP MARTINS URGES BUHARI TO EVOLVE POLICES THAT WILL BOOST THE ECONOMY

His Lordship Most Rev. Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins

The Archbishop of La­gos Catholic Archdioceses, His Lordship Most Rev. Dr. Alfred Adewale Mar­tins, has called on the President of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, to develop sound economic policies that would boost the nation’s economy.

The Archbishop gave made this call in his Christ­mas message issued on Christmas day in Lagos, adding that President Buhari should come out with a sound economic blue print that would arrest the depreciating value of the nation’s currency in the global market. He also advised him to see to it that the econo­my is diversified to make it more robust and investor-friendly.

He said: “While the proposed budget recently presented to the National Assembly is en­couraging, we hope its provisions, when passed, would be strictly followed and properly monitored so that we can get the required results.”

Most Rev. Martins; who commended President Buhari on the fight against corruption, which en­sured the recovery of the nation’s wealth; expressed the importance for the government to implement policies that would impact positively on the lives of Nigerians without undue distraction.

In his own words: “If you look around, it is obvious that Nigerians are truly suffering. Our econ­omy is on its knees; the Naira has de­preciated drastically while fuel scarcity pervades the whole country. Nigerians expect the Buhari-led gov­ernment to rise up to the challenge of re­building the nation. We are anxious to see a positive change that will begin to impact on the day-to-day lives of Nigerians.

“We are seeing the beginning of trials of those alleged to have misapplied the nation’s money, we hope that the process will be quickly concluded. We should be able to get such funds brought back into the economy so that we can begin to focus on more positive things that are also happening in our na­tion. Let the anti-graft agencies and the courts work hard to bring offenders to book and recover the stolen wealth of the nation.”

His Lordship equally felicitated all Christians on the occasion of the birth of Christ as symbolised by the Christmas celebration, urging Nigerians not to allow the hard times to rob them of the joy of Yule­tide. He advised all Nigerians to put their trust in Christ to restore the nation’s lost glory.