President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday said despite criticisms, the Federal Government will continue to sponsor pilgrims to the holy lands. Mr. Jonathan also stated that pilgrim camps would be built inside international airports cross Nigeria. The President was speaking when he received the report of the Federal Government delegation to the 2013 Christians Pilgrimage at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The report was submitted by an 11-member delegation led by the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ayo Oritsejafor. Mr. Jonathan said that Nigeria is a religious country and the popular wish of the majority is for government to keep supporting the pilgrimage of its citizens. He said his administration would not deviate from doing so. “Let me assure that government will continue to support our movement to the holy lands. “Nigeria is a religious country and that is the only thing we have and that is why certain things we do others may criticise us but our people believe that, that is the best thing to do. “As long as we believe that is the best thing for our people, we have no hesitation to do what the people believe is right,” he said - From Premium Times.
I have a number of questions for this President to answer for me:
(i) Is Nigeria no longer a secular state where the religions and the governance of Nigeria are two separate entities according to the Nigerian 1999 constitution?
(ii). Has this President forgotten that he publicly took an oath of office to uphold, to defend and to follow the Nigerian 1999 constitution as the President of Nigeria?
(iii). Is the plan of this President to build those pilgrim camps inside the Nigeria's international airports budgeted for in the 2014 federal budget? If no, then where is the money going to come from? Is this President not going to openly violate the constitution of Nigeria and be directly guilty of the crime of extra- budgetary spending?
(iv). When does the Nigeria's government constitutional roles of promoting and defending the freedom of religion in Nigeria change overnight into the promotion of Christianity and Islam in a secular states with many other religious faiths?
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