By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Most Reverend Matthew Kukah, has urged the administration of President Bola Tinubu to tackle the food crisis in Nigeria.
Kukah urged Tinubu while making his remarks on Friday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) unveiling of the Progressive Institute in Abuja.
According to him, Nigerians are hungry and something urgent needs to be done.”
He also called for urgent steps to be taken to reduce the cost of fuel.
The event had governors, ministers, party leaders and other appointees of government from both national and state levels present.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume was also in attendance, as well as representatives of Vice President, Kashim Shettima, and Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
Nigeria currently battles one of the worst food crises in history, with food inflation pegged at over 40 per cent by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The ongoing increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol from around N585 per litre to almost N900 per litre by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has also sparked uproar in the country, with many calling for a reversal.
While speaking further, the bishop said unless democracy was built on an intellectual foundation, “it will be built on sand.”
According to him, politics must be seen as a science to deliver good governance and not a game of looting.
He also said the Kukah Centre desires to raise the bar.
While noting that he is not a politician, the clergyman, however, said he is political and believed in promoting quality leadership.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje noted that the Progressive Institute is to ensure that the ideology of the party is institutionalised.
He said it will also serve as the official policy think-tank of the party, and provide a platform for discussion between the party, Nigerians, the academic society and the media, to promote inclusiveness.
He also said the institute will provide policy advice and suggestions to the government elected on the platform of the APC at both the national and state levels.
Ganduje further explained that the institute will also serve as an intellectual platform that will engage the international committee.