Christian Elders Write Tinubu, NASS, Seek New Constitution

The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) has written to President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Goodwill Akpabio, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), stressing the imperative of a new constitution for the country and a credible fight against corruption.

In the letter, the NCEF said that at its July 2024 meeting, it expressed concern about the condition of the people and the country and urged all well-meaning citizens to support the government in providing solutions to the myriads of problems confronting Nigeria.

As part of its contribution to support the government, the Christian Elders resolved to provide advice to the president, the Senate president, the House of Representatives Speaker, and the Chief Justice of the Federation.

The letter read: NCEF identified four critical areas, amongst many others, that the government should focus attention on to halt the country‘s downward spiral, which, if not checked, may result in an implosion in the near future.
The four critical areas identified by the Christian Elders are: The imperative of a new Constitution for Nigeria; Credible fight against corruption; Independence of the Judiciary and restoration of judicial integrity, and Averting the proposed national protest planned for August 2024.

“Almost every government in the past few years has made the fight against corruption a significant manifesto. Unfortunately, none of them have been able to make any meaningful impact in the fight against corruption.

“The establishment of the EFCC was a good idea until it became a tool for the party in power to fight political opponents. We regret that the current administration is towing this line.

“If the government is sincere in its fight against corruption, it must develop a structure that would guarantee the independence of the EFCC. This can easily be done if there is the political will to eradicate corruption in Nigeria.

“Government must call politicians to desist from infiltrating the judiciary with inordinate political ambitions. In addition to that, the independence of the judiciary must be guaranteed. The recommendations of the 2014 National Conference on steps to reform the judiciary should be implemented. Any country that cannot guarantee justice in its courts is one step away from anarchy.

It noted that a faceless group was calling people to a nationwide protest against bad governance from 1st to 10th August 2024 and cautioned that the issue should be taken seriously as the organisers may be trying to replicate the protest that took place recently in Kenya.