Anglican Church Laments High Cost Of Cooking Fuel, Food Scarcity, Sues Federal Government

(By Alex Uzoigwe and Michael Nwankwo)

    Diocese on the Niger (Anglican Communion), Anambra State, recently rose from her 2022 Synod held at the All Saints' Cathedral, Onitsha, with a very long-drawn face over what she described as "ever - rising cost of petroleum products in this country".

    She also did not hide her indignation concerning the apparent soaring cost of living in the country, saying that the level of food scarcity had occasioned widespread  hunger, starvation, sickness and untimely deaths in the country.

    Speaking through her Prelate, the Rt Rev. Dr Owen Nwokolo, in a 142 - page Presidential Address at the annual summit, the diocese expressed sadness over the continual hike in petroleum products in Nigeria.

   According to the diocese, "Crude oil is our economic mainstay. Unfortunately, the products are scarce and as costly as gold in Nigeria. We always run short of petroleum products. Why? 

     "Today the cost of petrol is high, that of cooking gas has gone beyond the reach of common people. The cost of kerosene seems the highest: a litre now sells between ₦500 and ₦600. Why must it be so", the congregation queried.

      The Anglican faithful underscored what they described as the existence of "a good number of refineries in the country",  but wondered "why we carry our crude oil outside for refining after which the same product is imported for us to buy at exorbitant price?"

    Condemning the practice, the church said, " This is abnormal, a misnomer and a dent that puts a big question mark on the nation's proclaimed political and economic sovereignty.

    "Granted that some of the refineries may have either broken down or to an extent, become obsolete, they can be fixed, upgraded or replaced", the Synod suggested, challenging the Federal Government to take up urgent steps towards revamping the oil industry.

     On the alternative, the church called on the government to instead license and supervise the now called "local illegal refineries" which owners were said to be running in secret, this they said, " will help to ease off the scarcity of petroleum products in the country as well as create jobs and checkmate the frequent incidents of explosions of such illegal ventures".

   In the same vane, the diocese frowned at the present rising cost of living in the country, explaining that food scarcity was now observed to be terribly taking very great toll in the country just as insurgence was daily reducing the country's population.

   The Synod was worried at the degree of hunger it said that was now ravaging the Nigerian population, stating, "There is no importation of food and farmers no longer go to their farms as a result of attacks by killer herdsmen.

   "Not only do suspected Fulani killer herdsmen maim, kill and destroy farming communities, they freely let loose their cattle to enter large farmland and make them graze on people's food crops", saying that the situation is both anti-national cohesion and an act of gross inhumanity to fellow man.

   The church regretted that it had been suggested time without number that cattle ranches be set up for herders in the country but that, "up till now the Federal Government seems to be giving deaf ear to that".

   Reiterating the same call, the Synod was of the opinion that one major means to restore abundance of food in the country was to checkmate what it described as, "the unfortunate activities of the said herdsmen".