A Non-governmental Organisation, Oganihu Ebonyi has kicked against Governor Francis Nwifuru’s religious subsidy policy in the State, describing it as a misappropriation of resources as well as grand plans at economic prodigality or sabotage.
Oganihu Ebonyi, a group of patriotic professionals, who passionately promote the success, sustainable progress, and development of Ebonyi State, said it is absurd that a state with the highest rate of poverty in the Southeast cand spend billions of Naira sponsoring select individuals to travel around the world to worship their God.
In a statement signed by Ani, Nwachukwu Agwu, Director of Research and Publications and Charles Otu, Director, Media and Communications, and made available to newsmen in Abakaliki, the group stated that it is a crime against humanity for a government that claim to have the interest of Ebonyians at heart to engage in such frivolities at the expense of investment in security and protection, basic education, primary healthcare coverage, child and maternal care, rural access roads, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
The group notes with concern that Ebonyi State is one of the states that devote a substantial part of its public expenditures to religious subsidy, at the detriment of critical investments in primary economic growth and development drivers, adding that 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 highest level of economic prodigality.
The statement read in part; “We identify with Ebonyians on the public outrage generated by the Ebonyi State Government’s policy to spend N551.5 million subsidizing 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.
“Relatedly, the recent spate of violent attacks on rural communities such as the Nkalaha community in Ishielu local council, where bandits destroyed properties and livelihoods worth billions of Naira, killed tens of innocent people, ransacked entire villages for plunders and displaced thousands of residents, suggest a resurgence of rural banditry in Ebonyi State.
“That criminal actors could perpetrate fatal attacks without effective confrontation or pushback from security agencies 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?
“Another unsettling development in the state is the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) strike action on the grounds of nonpayment of salaries and arrears for about 6 months. How can teachers go for months without salaries, and no official is held accountable and punished? We argue that the negligence so far suffered in managing the strike action is a death knell on the government’s policy priorities and orientation. Again, we approximate this negligence as economic sabotage.
” In the interim, we do not want to dabble into several allegations of grand corruption against some heads of Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs) and several other procurement infractions reported in the award of major contracts in the state because we are still collating and understudying these infractions so as to petition and institute legal challenges against all bureaucrats and politicians involved.
“However, we state our resolve and commitment to mount appropriate legal challenges to determine if wanton corruption is part of the official policy of the Ebonyi State Government. We hope that this will open up the space for effective citizen engagement in resource governance and administration in the state.
“Back to the N551.5 million religious subsidy being the first tranche of billions of Naira wasted annually on religious excursions, we call on Governor Francis Nwifuru to rescind the policy and apologize to Ebonyians (voters and taxpayers) whom this religious subsidy saga has damaged their trust in the intention and capacity of the state government to pursue “the good life” or efficiently and effectively deliver democratic dividends. We do not fail to recognize 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 growing envelope of religious subsidy in this state is a misplaced priority and should be challenged or resisted by every patriotic citizen. We will keep our eyes on the religious subsidy and shall continue to adopt new democratic strategies to challenge its desirability and other policies we deem anti-people in Ebonyi State.”
The group therefore called on the Governor to recalibrate the government’s priorities in favor of rapid investment in the social and critical sectors of the Ebonyi state economy and possibly rejig his cabinet and bring in some technocrats, pledging to continue to engage the government in sensitive matters of governance and administration.
