Cleric urges govt to practice true federalism to fight corruption

The Archbishop of Christ Church of Cherubim and Seraphim Nigeria and Overseas, Rt Rev Gabriel Adereyinwo, has said that the practice of true federalism by the government is the only way to fight corruption.
Adereyinwo opined that corruption is thriving because there is too much concentration of power and money at the center thereby encouraging stealing and wastages.
The Archbishop who spoke at the ordination service of some members of the church at its headquarters in Epe, Lagos state said resources allocation formula as it is been operated in the country tilts unjustifiably in favour of the centre, breeding wastes, corruption, ineptitude and under-development of the constituent states.
His words: “the present arrangement encourages corruption, but if we revert to true federalism, that is, a balanced federal structure which recognizes fully the legitimate claims of all units where no single entity among the federating units will be strong or powerful enough to hold the others to ransom, there will be less stealing and it will bring rapid development.
“I therefore agree with the Yoruba leaders that called for restructuring adoption of regional structure. But my advice is that regional structures should be accorded constitutional recognition.
“More powers should be taken away from the centre to the federating units, only matters bordering on the collective interest of the generality of Nigerians like Foreign Affairs, Defence, Currency, among others, should be left with the Central Government.”
Speaking earlier, the Deputy Archbishop of the Church, Rt Rev Ebenezer Alaba called on religious leaders to always speak the truth always and accord high priority to holiness.
He said it shows the sign of the end time to see Pastors, Prophets and other religious leaders to be paraded for various crimes by law enforcement agencies.
While calling on leaders to always lead by example, Rt Rev Alaba said the purity of the church is not negotiable as God will never compromise standards.
“When you see those that were supposed to be good leaders engaged in rituals, kidnappings and all sorts of vices, it is telling us that truly we are in the end time, as Christians, we need to watch our steps and return to our creator.”
Abiodun Taiwo, Abeokuta