Josiah Idowu-Fearon has used his final synodical address to urge Nigeria’s newly elected president to “hit the ground running”

The new secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council, the Rt. Rev. Josiah Idowu-Fearon, has used his final synodical address to urge Nigeria’s newly elected president, Muhammadu Buhari, to “hit the ground running” and reform the country’s public and private institutions. ““The situation you are inheriting is so bad that you should not expect any period of honeymoon,” Dr. Idowu-Fearon told the 20th annual meeting of the Diocese of Kaduna synod on 30 May 2015. “Security is not there. The power supply is at its lowest level. Queues at our filling stations hardly ever disappear in spite of the payment of subsidy to those importing fuel,” he said adding that “in some states and some Federal Government departments, salaries have not been paid for months.” Rebuilding the army and rule of law should be his top priorities, he said. “Mr. President is advised to sanitise the armed forces, get them well equipped, and flush out the remaining Boko Haram insurgents within his first six months in office.” The new ACC secretary general also urged the new president to examine the links between government and prominent businessmen and civil leaders, including the heads of the Christian Association of Nigeria. “We want to state the obvious so as to give the President some ideas for his consideration and action,” he said. “It is obvious, the stakes are high; Nigerians who voted for you have a very high expectancy level. You cannot afford to fail by disappointing them.”