President Bola Tinubu has been encouraged by Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, to honor his New Year’s promise to reduce the present high inflation rate from 34.6 percent to 15 percent.
In the new year, he also urged the president to fulfill his pledge to step up efforts to increase food production and prevent starvation from occurring.
In his homily at a Special Memorial Church Service honoring the victims of the palliatives distribution stampede on December 21, 2024, Kaigama praised President Bola Tinubu’s message of hope for Nigerians in the New Year.
The president’s prayer and yearning for a better life for the people, he claimed, was quite touching.
The president’s pledges must be fulfilled by tangible action, though, and beneficial outcomes must follow, according to Kaigama.
“We began the new year with President Tinubu’s incredibly touching speech. The only show I’ve liked since he took office because it was really upbeat.”I wanted to wish all Nigerians a happy and prosperous new year,” he says. That’s straight from the president himself. He prayed that the year would be filled with happiness, prosperity, and health.
“Despite the fact that 2024 presented many difficulties for our people and households, his government is dedicated to stepping up efforts to increase food production in 2025,” he stated.He went on to say that inflation will drop from its peak of 34.6 percent to 15 percent. That is our president’s position. Is it not encouraging? It is favorable.
It is our hope and prayer that this will be turned into tangible reality. According to Kaigama, it’s not only about a speech; it’s also about how it is actually put into reality.
According to the archbishop, he hopes the president will follow through on his promises made in the New Year’s program.
That’s what I pray for. And kindly join me in praying that this will and must occur,” Kaigama stated.
Regarding the deadly incident that happened last December at the Holy Trinity Church in Maitama-Abuja during the distribution of food items to the less fortunate, Kaigama stated that it had nothing to do with the church’s negligence.
He claimed that an extraordinary 5,000 or so vulnerable and in need people attended the gathering.
Kaigama claims that because of the pressure and fear caused by the big throng outside the church, there was a battle as people rushed to enter through the gate, which resulted in injuries and fatalities.
Kaigama maintained that the Church shouldn’t be held accountable, stating: “Undoubtedly, given the increased financial difficulties that many families in the nation are facing. They never arrived as a result of our carelessness. The reason they came was because they were hungry.
He went on: “The Catholic Church is not to blame for their hunger. If you’re trying to find the culprit, search elsewhere. The Catholic Church, for sure.Nobody should be let to die needlessly while merely trying to find food, I say again. Wouldn’t it be disheartening to state in the future and in history that people perished here just trying to find food?
Does that not bring disgrace to the country? He added, “When the world community learns about it, they also wonder what is happening to Nigeria with our enormous and vast natural and human resources.”
The archbishop gave his word that the church will take the necessary preventative action to make sure that such a shameful event doesn’t occur again.
By calling the priests and St. Vincent De Paul members who oversaw the delivery of palliatives the church’s heroes, he also attempted to boost their spirits.
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Kaigama also called on the government to work more closely with the church and other faith-based organizations in the future to aid the underprivileged and destitute in the community.
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was personally chastised by him to figure out how to work with the Catholic Church to help the underprivileged and save the lives of those in need.
Kaigama expressed his eagerness to meet with Wike and discuss ideas with him on how the FCT and the church might work together to improve the lives of the people living in the capital city.
The FCT Minister, accompanied by one of his aides, declared support for the Catholic Church.
The Police Force has learned from the December incident and will make sure it doesn’t happen again, according to a spokesman of the FCT Police Commissioner.
According to AIG Ben Igwe, the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 7 in Abuja, the church and the security personnel have learned enough from the December tragedy to be ready to prevent a recurrence.
The distribution of food and other necessities at the Catholic Church in Maitama-Abuja last December resulted in ten fatalities and eleven injuries.
There were many persons who attended the memorial church service, including foreign diplomats, government officials, and church members.
