A non-governmental organisation working to end poverty in the country, ActionAid Nigeria, has called on the federal government to declare state of emergency in the sectors of education and security especially as it concerns ritual killings.
The organization made this call after its board of Trustee members sat and reviewed developments in government, politics, the economy, and security during the last quarter, particularly as they affect vulnerable groups; women, children, Persons with Disabilities, PwDs, and youths.
According to a statement made available to the Next Edition by its Communication Coordinator, Lola Ayanda, ActionAid Nigeria observed that ritual killings are now on the rise in Nigeria occasioned by the quest and desperation to get rich quick especially among young people has been linked to poverty and greed with some persons apprehended for ritual killings and witch doctors insinuating that politicians, government officials, and wealthy businessmen are their sponsors.
They observed with displeasure that the rejection of the five proposed Gender Bills in the 5th Constitution Alteration Bills by the two Houses of the National Assembly on 1st March 2022 threatens the achievement of adequate women representation in governance and inclusion of women in decision making in Nigeria.
They also observed among other issues that the President’s assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill is commendable and its proper implementation will further deepen Nigeria’s democratic experience but noted that the leadership crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, ahead of its national convention slated for March 26, 2022, portends a great threat to the democratic trajectory in Nigeria.
While they lamented fuel scarcity, high cost of transportation and consumables and acute shortage of aviation fuel, Jet A1, which has also negatively impacted the aviation industry and the economy, the organization said it was disturbing that the NNPC and other regulators in the downstream sector continue to watch as Nigerians and businesses undergo such harrowing experience without penalizing the culprits behind the importation of the adulterated fuel.
The noted that Nigeria is plagued by myraid of problems too numerous to mention; from incessant strike actions by Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to security issues; communal clashes/civil unrest, and kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) and ritual killings amidst the Covid19 pandemic, the organization recommended that we call on the Nigerian National Assembly to substantiate it’s commitment to gender equality by re-presenting and re-considering not just three but all the five proposed Gender Bills in the 5th Constitution Alteration Bills.
They said Nigerian women deserve a constitution that guarantees an irreducible minimum of 111 seats for women in the national assembly; Indigeneship, citizenship, 35% in political party leadership and more appointive positions for women.
The statement further recommended that, “As the 2023 general elections draw nearer, INEC should take lessons from the FCT polls and re-evaluate its readiness for subsequent elections. We call on INEC to improve on logistics coordination, retrain staff on the use of the BVAS and review the accessibility of polling units with registered voters who are PWDs.
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“The importation and sales of adulterated fuel has dire consequences for the Nigeria economy and the productivity and livelihood of its citizens. Such misconduct should attract immediate sanctions of the culprits to serve as deterrence to others. To restore honesty and accountability in the sector, we call on the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC to prioritize sanction and improve on quality assurance to ensure no future occurrence.
“We call on the Federal Government to promptly implement all contents of the FGN/ASUU agreement. Government should declare a state of emergency on education to rebuild it and ensure that the children of the poor get quality education.
“To tackle insecurity in the country, there is an urgent need to amend the constitution to allow for states to set up their various police outfits by taking the police off the exclusive legislative list and including same in the concurrent list.
While they insisted that cracking the nation’s current security challenges requires increasing the manpower and welfare of all security agencies and equipping them with modern combat equipment, skills, and training, they said government must also renew partnership with neighboring countries to enhance intelligence exchange and information sharing that would help in quelling the insurgency and other sundry crimes.
They also used the federal government to declare a state of emergency on ritual killings and maintain a strong posture against the dastardly act by ensuring prompt conviction of perpetrators and their sponsors.
