A civic advocacy group, Oganihu Ebonyi, has strongly criticised the Ebonyi State Government over its decision to allocate N551.5 million to subsidise the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage, calling for an immediate reversal of the policy.

In a statement released on Sunday, the group described religious subsidies as a waste of scarce public resources, particularly at a time of economic hardship.

The group, represented by its Director of Research and Publications, Nwachukwu Agwu, and Director of Media and Communications, Charles Otu, argued that spending billions of naira on religious excursions is detrimental to critical sectors like security, healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

They urged Governor Francis Nwifuru to rescind the Hajj subsidy policy and apologise to Ebonyians for what they termed a ?betrayal of trust.?

?We identify with Ebonyians on the public outrage generated by the Ebonyi State Government?s policy to spend N551.5 million subsidising the 2025 Hajj.

?When combined with the amount appropriated for Christian pilgrimages and other state-sponsored religious excursions, religious subsidies run into billions of naira and consume a significant percentage of the state?s annual appropriation laws.

?At this period of extreme economic hardship, famine, and mass poverty caused by broad macroeconomic volatilities, hyperinflation, and the inability of state and local governments to pay salaries for workers, we view religious subsidy as a misappropriation of resources at best, or worse still, part of grand plans at economic prodigality or sabotage.

?We do not fail to recognise that religious freedom is a democratic right, but those who wish to travel around the globe to worship their God should do so at their own personal costs,? the group maintained.

They wondered how ?criminal actors could perpetrate fatal attacks without effective confrontation or pushback from security agencies,? adding that ?it suggests a lack of adequate security response against state aggressors and criminals.

?Why then should the Ebonyi State Government consider religious subsidy a priority at the expense of securing lives and properties? What is the logic?? the statement queried.

The group advised the governor to restructure his cabinet by appointing technocrats, particularly from the diaspora, to drive economic growth and governance reforms. (Daily Sun)

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