1. PREAMBLE: The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria re-affirms its faith in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour of humankind and its belief in the Word of God as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as its supreme rule of faith and life. It also re-affirms its commitment to a strong, vibrant and united nation, built on the principle of true federalism and democracy as well as religious freedom, which recognizes and respects the identities, aspirations and beliefs of the different peoples and religions of this great country. 2. COST OF DEMOCRACY: Almost twelve years into the present democratic dispensation in Nigeria, the Church laments that the nation’s democracy has become a government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. It has become a monetized, commercialized political culture where the servant is now greater than the master. The rich are getting richer, not as a result of their creativity and hard work, but as a result of their exploitation of the poor. In the poor economic situation that Nigerians find themselves, members of the National Assembly see nothing wrong in receiving incredible jumbo pay packages, and would not even allow the masses they rule with iron hand to pick up the crumbs that fall off their table. The Church urges the political class to ensure that democracy impacts positively the lives of the people at the grass roots level, or else our democracy would have been a farce. 3. PRESIDENTIAL PENSION LIST: The Church condemns the recent passage by the National Assembly, of the bill seeking not only to increase the pension allowance of former Presidents and Vice Presidents, but also to extend the pension list to include the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker and Chief Justice of the Federation. This is a further evidence of the Church’s assertion that the politics of Nigeria is exploiting the poor and making the rich richer. In a country where half the population live below poverty levels, pensioners are subjected to inhuman treatment before they are paid their stipends at very irregular intervals, the basic infrastructural sectors remain comatose, it is scandalous for the National Assembly members to be thinking of laws that enrich only themselves and which do not add value to the lives of the people they represent. 4. MINIMUM WAGE: The Church expresses full support with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over its demand for a new minimum wage of N18, 000 per month and calls on both President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly to expedite action on the proposed Minimum Wage Bill without further delay. Considering the natural resources with which God has blessed this nation and given the huge salaries, allowances and other perks enjoyed by the political class, it is only fair that workers should be obliged their realistic demand. In addition, the present economic realities demand a new minimum wage in order to give the average Nigerian worker a new lease of life. 5. RENEWED MILITANT ACTIVITIES: The Church has noticed with consternation, the renewed violent activities in the Niger Delta in spite of the amnesty programme which was supposed to end militant activities in the area. The Church therefore calls on the Government to ensure that the amnesty programme embraces all militant groups in the troubled region. All the post-amnesty programmes articulated by the Government should be pursued vigorously in order to bring lasting peace to the Niger Delta. 6. NATIONAL SECURITY: The Church has watched with concern, the unfolding drama with regard to the consignment of arms and explosives illegally shipped into the country and seized by security agencies. While the Church commends the security agencies for their alertness in this regard, we however draw the attention of the Government to the alarming volume of dangerous arms and ammunition in circulation in Nigeria which are used to perpetrate ethnic and religious crises, criminal activities, political assassination and terrorism which undermine the security of the nation. The Church urges the Government to strengthen security controls at all entry points to check the rising trend of illegal arms importation. 7. KIDNAPPING: The Church commends the Federal Government for its efforts so far in tackling the menace of kidnapping in the country, particularly in Aba, Abia State, which had become the most notorious den of kidnappers. The Church urges the Government to extend military presence to other areas in the country such as Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Imo, Edo and Delta States where kidnap activities are being reported in order to completely arrest the menace and ensure security necessary for peace and development. 8. CLOSURE OF UNIVERSITIES: The Church notes with dismay the lingering face-off between members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the South-East zone and the Governments of States in the zone which has resulted in the continuous closure of State-owned Universities in the area. The Church views this as an indication of the failure by the Governments concerned in the education sub sector. Education should command the priority attention of any Government in an effort to develop and empower the human resources of its people. No effort should therefore be spared to ensure adequate remuneration, equipping and funding of the education sub sector. The Church urges the Governments of the South East States to do everything possible to resolve the issues with ASUU so that the closed universities could re-open without further delay. 9. PETROLEUM PRODUCTS: The Church has noted with relief, the availability and stability of prices of petroleum products in the country since Goodluck Jonathan assumed the office of President of Nigeria. This vindicates the Church’s repeated stand that with proper management and patriotism, the incessant crisis in the petroleum products market could be put to a halt. The Church commends the President for this achievement and urges him not to relent in this regard. Given the wealth of petroleum products that the country is blessed with, scarcity and the importation of petroleum products should not be heard of at all. 10. ROADS REHABILITATION: Now that the rainy season has subsided and dry season is about to set in, the Church urges the Government to pursue vigorously its road construction and maintenance projects in the face of the very deplorable condition of roads in Nigeria, particularly in the South-East and South-South zones. This call is consequent upon the fact that the Government has always made unfulfilled promises that roads construction and rehabilitation would be carried out during the dry season. Of particular mention are the Onitsha-Aba highway, the roads linking South-East with Ikot-Ekpene and Calabar, the Port Harcourt-Enugu expressway and other major city and inter-city roads. The importance of a good road network to enhance human and goods transportation cannot be over-emphasised. 11. CHRISTMAS GREETINGS: The Church extends goodwill to all Nigerians on the occasion of the approaching Christmas season, which commemorates the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church calls on Nigerians to reflect on the life and work of Jesus Christ and to aspire to emulate Jesus’ example of sacrifice, selfless service and commitment to the salvation of humanity. These are virtues needed to build a truly great nation which Nigeria aspires to. Dated in Umuahia this 19th day of November, 2010, and signed by: Most Rev. Prof. Emele M. Uka Prelate, Moderator of the General Assembly & Chairman of GAEC Rev. Ndukwe N. Eme Principal Clerk & Secretary of GAEC
The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to put in place, as a matter of urgency, the machinery for the implementation of the report of the 2014 National Conference as the basis for the peaceful co-existence of the people of this nation in the light of true federalism and the secular status of Nigeria, among other major issues.
How has Nigeria faired with regard to religious freedom? This is a delicate question, as religious freedom is both the most fundamental of all freedoms and the most difficult to defend.
“Seeing is believing” is a very popular adage but like many busy people do, I never gave it a very serous thought until now. After three days of seeing the quiet revolution that is going on in Aba, permit me to welcome you very warmly to the indigenization of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria in
1. Preamble: 169 years ago, precisely on 10th April, 1846, the Rev. Hope Masterton Waddell and his team of missionaries from the Church of Scotland Mission, arrived Calabar to begin what is now known as The Presbyterian Church of
Twenty seven years ago, The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria ventured into Tiv land in Benue State under the Church’s mission enterprise. The year was 1988 and the Church, prompted by the divine commission to take the gospel to all parts of the world, initiated a move that resulted in the berthing of the Church in Abande, from where the Church has