Don’t give up hope, Mark, govs tell Nigerians

Don’t give up hope, Mark, Govs tell Nigerians

Eminent Nigerians including the Senate President David Mark and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, have urged Nigerians not to give up hope on the country.

They made the appeal on Sunday in goodwill messages to Nigerians to mark the nation’s 52nd independence anniversary.

The Senate President particularly noted that despite the nation’s economic and socio-politicial challenges, its citizens had the capacity to solve its problems.

He said, “Nobody is coming from the moon or space to solve our problems for us.

“The challenge is that we must put behind us such mundane issues as ethnic or religious differences and come together as one people to tackle our problems.’’

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Kola Ologbondiyan, Mark said, “If we look inwards and do the right things in conformity with our laws and customs, we can adequately find solutions to our problems.

“All we need to do is to harness our resources and potential for good.”

Ekweremadu, who said the basic constitutional framework laid by Nigeria’s founding fathers had been distorted, noted that it was imperative for all Nigerians to support on-going efforts to amend the constitution.

Ekweremadu, who is the chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment, said the  amendment would address the constitutional challenges facing the nation.

According to him, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media) Uche Anichukwu, the National Assembly is poised to re-engineer the 1999 Constitution to restore the nation on the path of true and irreversible greatness.

He enjoined the nation’s leaders and the citizenry to “invest political will, patriotism, altruism, and fair-mindedness in the ongoing project to make Nigeria a better place for this and future generations.”

Also, the Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, said, “Nigerians have every reason to thank God in spite of the current challenges.

“There is no democratic country in the world that is not confronted with one problem or the other, but with concerted efforts and sincerity of purpose, we can always overcome the challenges of our time.”

Amosun, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Media, Mrs. Funmi Wakama, also called for peaceful coexistence among adherents of all faiths as “no religion in the world preaches violence.”

The acting Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, urged Nigerians to embrace a new spirit of patriotism, sacrifice and commitment towards strengthening the unity and socio-economic and political well being of the country.

Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who spoke at Christ Church in Port Harcourt, said the state government would meet the demand of the people.

He urged residents of the state to remain patient and co-operate with his administration to facilitate the needed development in the state.

Similarly the Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed,  urged Nigerians to have unshakeable faith in the Nigeria project.

Ahmed in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahab Oba,   said Nigeria would be great, adding that the country had survived many trying times.

Governor Theodore Orji of Abia said, “Nigerians should be hopeful that Nigeria will continue to be one, because God loves us.’’

He said the lessons of the civil war had further helped to unite the country and ensure its continued existence as an indivisible entity.

Meanwhile Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola said true fiscal federalism remained the panacea to the nation’s socio-political problems.

He also observed that there was the need for more powers to devolve from the centre.

Governor  Patrick Yakowa  of Kaduna State also said the nation would never attain greatness in an atmosphere of rancor, instability and disunity.

Meanwhile, Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang has urged Nigerians to pray for President Goodluck Jonathan.

Jonathan, he said, was carrying a lot of weight on his shoulder, saying  the load was beginning to weigh him down.