Catholic Bishops on Tuesday rose from a two-day conference where they declared the on-going strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a burden and unnecessary.

The bishops said the lecturers’ strike was incessant and had become a bigger burden to parents and their children.‎

“ASUU’s seasons for strikes have undermined the credibility and value of education and seriously lowered the integrity of the academia,” they said.‎

The Bishops have also called on the government to device new strategies reinforce anti- corruption fight as the current approach is not yielding desired results.

The Bishops from the Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of a two-day conference at St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral, Minna.

The communiqué was signed by the Chairman of the conference, Archbishop Mathew Ndagoso and the Secretary, Bishop John Niyiring.

The bishops said that fight against corruption appeared mired in judicial technicalities.

They said that the conference would continue to encourage relevant agencies in the anti-graft campaign to find new strategies for winning the war.

The bishops decried insurgency, cattle rustling, kidnapping and assassination which were on the rise in the country.

“We are saddened that things seem to have gotten progressively worse today in the country,” they said.

‎The conference pointed out that recession had not abated and that lives of ordinary people had continued to hang in the balance.

They stated that the people entrusted the present government with their hopes by voting across religion and regions but that government seemed to have squandered most of that goodwill.

The clerics “joined millions of Nigerians” in thanking God for answering prayers for President Muhammadu Buhari’s recovery.

“We will continue to pray to God to give him strength and wisdom to face the challenges that our nation faces in these difficult moments.”

‎Kaduna Ecclesiastical Province comprises Kaduna, Sokoto, Kontangora, Zaria, Minna, Kano and Kafanchan areas. (NAN)

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