By SCM REPORTER IN IBADAN
CATHOLIC leaders in Nigeria have issued a blistering “wake-up call” to the government, demanding an end to a two-month health strike and “deplorable” roads that have left the nation in a chokehold.
Meeting in Ibadan for their first summit of 2026, the Bishops of the Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province warned that while some progress is being made, the average citizen is still suffering “needless deaths” due to a collapsed healthcare system.
The Bishops, led by Most Rev. ‘Leke Gabriel Abegunrin, took aim at a health workers’ strike that has now entered its eighth week.
They branded the situation “unacceptable and tragic,” noting that the poor have been left with almost zero access to life-saving care.
”Government must quickly address the strike,” the communique stated. “It has subjected the common people to considerable suffering… causing needless deaths.”
Roads to Nowhere
It wasn’t just the hospitals under fire.
The clergy slammed the state of Nigeria’s infrastructure, specifically targeting the “impassable” motorways in the Southwest.
They accused federal ministries of “underperforming” and claimed many state-level departments have become “comatose” or “moribund,” failing to provide even the most basic stable electricity and water.
War on Bandits
On the security front, the Bishops offered a rare olive branch, praising a “new zeal” from the Federal Government in tackling the bandits and kidnappers who have terrorized the country.
However, they warned that this momentum will only last if the law is applied “without fear or favour,” regardless of a criminal’s tribe or status.
Taxing the Poor
The summit also waded into the heated row over new tax reforms. While the government claims the changes help the poor, the Bishops urged officials to give the reforms a “human face.”
They called for “fairness and transparency,” asking for the most vulnerable Nigerians to be given “latitude” to adjust before the full force of the law is applied.
