The Council of the Methodist Church of Nigeria Bishops has emphasised the need for the introduction of state police as the best way to tackle rising security challenges across the country.
The church made the call in Enugu on Sunday in a communique issued at the end of its 40th Annual Council of Bishops.
It was held at the Wesley Cathedral, Enugu.
The communique was presented and signed by the Methodist Prelate, His Eminence, Dr. Oliver Aba.
The Bishops-in-Council acknowledged the various efforts of the Federal Government in its attempt to curb the various violent crises across the country that had maimed and sent many Nigerians to their early graves.
Aba said: “We call on the governments at the centre to be more proactive in handling the issue.
“Consequently, the Council enjoins the government to look into the idea of the formation of State Police so as to reduce the spate of the incessant killings of harmless Nigerians by insurgents, militants and terrorists.”
On the security challenge in the South East, Aba called on the three tiers of governments to find a lasting solution to it so that the people of the zone could go about their businesses peacefully.
The council urged President Bola Tinubu to use his victory to heal wounds of many Nigerians through a sincere process of reconciliation, national unity and integration.
Aba, while congratulating Tinubu for his successful inauguration and smooth take off of the new administration, said he should be magnanimous enough in victory to initiate a clear-cut process of healing the wounds in the hearts of many Nigerians.
The Prelate, who applauded the Federal Government for removing fuel subsidy, admonished it to develop a heart of milk-like kindness by putting up some implementable palliatives so as to reduce the current hardship of the ordinary Nigerians.
According to him, the proposed N8,000 to be given to Nigerians as palliatives is nothing to write home about; rather government should teach Nigerians how to fish and not giving them fish.
He also called on the three tiers of governments to create a conducive environment for job creation and employment opportunities as a way of curbing mass movement of youths to Europe in search of greener pastures.
While acknowledging some of the hitches, alleged discrepancies and complaints about the conduct and eventual results of the 2023 General Elections, Aba saluted the courage of the contestants to challenge the outcome in court.
Aba said: “The Council salute the courage of the aggrieved contestants in the 2023 elections who have chosen the way of peace by going to the Election Petition Tribunal to challenge the process and outcome of the election through legal redress.
“We, therefore, call on the judiciary to objectively look at the merits of each case in her decision-making process.”
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Aba decried the current spate of moral decadence and the decline in the moral and ethical values of the contemporary society as expressed in digital and cyber crimes amongst other ills, saying that it was an existential threat to our “Africanness.”
He, however, called for National Ethical Renewal to restore and revive the Nigeria cherished and age-long ethical principles and values by reintroducing History and Christian Religious Knowledge subjects in schools.
Aba called on all Christians, particularly Methodist faithful, to rise up to the challenge of defending the faith of the Church in times of need while warning them against dangers of false prophets and teachers.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that over 100 Methodist Bishops attended the weeklong council declared open by the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah.
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