By Akinwale Kasali
Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the last Presidential Election, Peter Obi, has slammed Churches for promoting and encouraging Corruption.
Obi said Churches in Nigeria should be more critical in the fight against corruption, and not spearhead it by shielding corrupt persons.
The former Anambra State Governor made this statement while talking on the theme: “The Church and Good Governance” at the All Soul Church, Lekki, Lagos State.
He said all institutions, including the Church, contributed to that failure and the decay in our society either through commission or omission.
“By blessing poor people who suddenly make money in government and come to Church for thanksgiving rather than calling police for them, the Church is not showing the right example.”
He also harped on the need for the Church to be conscious of being the conscience of the world.
He said that to reduce corruption, the government must make deliberate efforts to reduce so many tollgates by changing its procurement processes to ensure money moved directly to institutions they were meant for.
He frowned at the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for the exceptional high cost of governance and proffered solution flowing from his practical experience.
Obi said that when he was at the saddle as governor of Anambra State, he reduced the cost of governance through eliminating many unnecessary things that people in government make a norm, such as long convoys, maintaining multiple guest houses, traveling with retinue of aides, exorbitant estacodes, irrelevant expenses among others.
“By the time you know it, I had excess money to meet our obligations including clearing arrears of pension to the tune of about N35 billion and saving over N75 billion for the state as of the day I left office,” Obi added.
