By CHIDINMA EWUNONU-ALUKO

The Oyo State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has urged the government to put in stricter measures against corruption in all areas.

The Chairman, Apostle Joshua Akinyemiju, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Ibadan.

Akinyemiju urged the government to look at diversifying the economy by boosting agriculture, ensuring stable market system, improving electricity supply and maintaining political will to block wastage.

He emphasised that laws must be enforced to punish defaulters severely irrespective of position or status.

“There should be no sacred cow. These leaders go to Dubai, Singapore, China and more but they failed to copy what those countries do and replicate it here.

“That attitude should change, they need to do away with selfishness, insensitivity and insincerity. Having done all of these and more, leadership must have the fear of God.

“They must know that the day of judgment will come when everyone will give account before his/her creator,” he said.

He cited 2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.

“We must continue to hammer on the need for leaders and followers to turn from their wicked ways if we want peace in the land. God bless Nigeria,” Akinyemiju said.

Also, the pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Jesus Place, Ibadan, Pastor Francis Oghuma, urged citizens to endure the hardship of this time as it was momentarily in the place of weeding the economy.

“As Christians, we must be ready to make sacrifices, living for a while in self denial, enduring a worth waiting harvest while making selflessness a watchword.

“We must discourage wasteful spending, overloaded wedding, burials, and the likes must be seen as economic saboteur and a draining pipe to economic redundancy,” he said.

Oghuma enjoined the government to create enabling environment for citizens and strategically take headlong to deal with “our green economic drainages monsters- electricity.

He called for government emergency declaration on the alternative “Solar Power system” by subsidizing solar sources to make it more affordable for the citizens.

“The epileptic electricity has sent many striving businesses to their early graves and leaving no carcasses for revamping.

“Solar energy will also help to salvage the manufacturing sector.

“There was a generating set call “I pass my neighbour”; that little generating set brought good life to many homes, with food to the tables of many. Today it is Solar,” he said.

The RCCG cleric further urged Nigerians to continue to pray and engage the author of life who knows the end from the beginning of which without Him we can do nothing.

“Finally, we must return to our basis and cultural values where persons with questionable wealthy possession are not celebrated nor recognised.

“With the aforementioned, I see a formidable and robust economy ranging from this 2024,” Oghuma stressed. (NAN)

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