The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins has urged the newly inaugurated ministers to serve the country diligently and with a deep sense of patriotism.
The cleric said that once they were able to do they would have succeeded in putting the country on the course toward greater heights.
Martins, who made his thoughts known in a statement on Saturday, reminded the ministers that they had a huge responsibility ahead of them considering the numerous challenges facing the country at the moment.
While congratulating the new ministers on their appointments, Martins urged them to rise to the demands of their offices by being alive to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians, who have been clamoring for improved living conditions irrespective of their religious, political, or ethnic affiliations.
“There have been varying analyses and evaluations of the appointments, but what is beyond contention is that the challenges before the new ministers are enormous.
“They are coming in or being re-appointed at a time when there is so much distress, anger, and dissatisfaction among the people.
“The expectations of Nigerians are high since their desire for no more than the barest minimum of good living has been left unfulfilled for quite a long time.
“So, we hope that the ministers would hit the ground running.
“Their two-day retreat should have helped them to identify the various ways their ministries can impact meaningfully on the lives of the people.
“The ruling party (APC) has made a lot of promises and Nigerians hope that the ministers would work assiduously to ensure that the promises do not go the way of similar promises in the past that were not satisfactorily discharged.
“It is only by making the lives of people manifestly better that they would be able to justify their appointments to these high offices,” he said.
The prelate also called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the ministers to avail themselves of wise counsel from all well-meaning Nigerians irrespective of the tribal, religious, and political leaning of the adviser.
He further advised the President to use his second term in office to make amends in the areas of security of lives and property and power supply.
“Fixing the dwindling economy as well as consolidating on the construction and provision of infrastructure in country are also of paramount importance,” he said.
The cleric prayed God to invest wisdom in the President in order to make him see why he should not discountenance the growing agitations from the different sections of the country calling for the restoration of federal character in the life of the country.
The archbishop said that Buhari as the father of the country should be prepared to make every sacrifice needed to rebuild and make Nigeria a peaceful, united, and prosperous entity.
“We have for too long been the butt of jokes and cynical remarks and we hope the tides would change very soon,” he said. (NAN)
