Onaga Raises Tax Concerns, Commends Enugu Security

The Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga, has urged Nigerians to remain thankful to God despite the economic and social challenges confronting the country.

Onaga made the call on Thursday at a Thanksgiving Mass held at the Government House Chapel, Enugu, to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary.

The Mass was presided over by the Catholic Bishop of Awgu Diocese, Most Rev. John Ifeanyichukwu Okoye, and attended by Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, principal officers of the state government, bishops and clergy from various Christian denominations and other dignitaries.

In his homily, Onaga said Nigerians had lost some of the celebratory spirit associated with the country’s early years of independence because of prevailing social, economic and political difficulties.

He, however, said there remained sufficient reasons to thank God for the nation and the progress recorded in different areas.

Reflecting on the state of the nation, the bishop echoed concerns earlier raised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), saying the poor were bearing the brunt of the country’s difficulties.

“Our message is clear: The poor masses in Nigeria are suffering. The poor masses in Nigeria cannot find their feet. We know that because we are at the grassroots; we are with them. This fact cannot be blurred,” he said.

Onaga said the Church had firsthand knowledge of the difficulties confronting ordinary Nigerians because of its presence at the grassroots.

The bishop, however, commended the Enugu State Government for improvements in security and infrastructure, recalling the severe insecurity experienced in the state between 2021 and 2023.

He disclosed that he personally buried four priests who were killed in connection with kidnapping between 2019 and 2021, stressing that improved security was essential for investment and sustainable development.

Onaga commended the state government for interventions in security, road infrastructure, air transportation, the reconstruction of the Enugu Stadium, education and healthcare, while stressing that more remained to be done.

The bishop also raised concerns over taxation in the state, urging residents to fulfil their civic responsibility while appealing to the government to reduce or ameliorate the burden on the people.

“There is a growing cry of pain among the people of Enugu due to taxation,” he said, urging the government to make taxation more acceptable to residents.

He also drew attention to complaints by some pensioners over delays or difficulties in receiving their pensions, stressing the need for greater care and attention to vulnerable citizens.

“Our people need a kind of soothing and care,” Onaga said.

The bishop expressed confidence in the capacity of Nigerians to contribute meaningfully to national development and urged representatives of Enugu State at the federal level to use their positions to project the state and advance its interests.

He also called on Nigerians to pray for the government and urged leaders at all levels to discharge their responsibilities faithfully.

Onaga said political independence alone could not guarantee true freedom, noting that citizens could remain constrained by corruption, hatred, greed and injustice.

“A country can have an independent flag, yet its people can be chained by corruption, hatred, greed and injustice,” he said.

He added that true liberty involved doing what was right and caring for the weak and vulnerable, rather than merely exercising freedom without regard for its consequences.

“Our national home cannot rest on purely material foundations. It must rest upon a renewed moral conscience built on justice, holiness and truth,” Onaga said.

In his remarks, Governor Mbah thanked the clergy and the Government House Chaplain, Rev. Fr. Anthony Ude, for joining the state in the Independence Day Thanksgiving Mass.

Mbah said governance must be complemented by spiritual responsibility, noting that while government must work, plan and lead, it must also acknowledge God.

“As a government, we are conscious that while we must work with our hands, plan with our minds and lead with courage, we must also kneel in prayer and acknowledge the sovereignty of God,” he said.

The governor said the anniversary was an opportunity to remember the courage of Nigeria’s founding generation, who envisaged a nation capable of determining its own destiny.

He acknowledged that difficulties could sometimes make the future appear uncertain but said past limitations could become starting points for future progress.

Mbah described Enugu’s development trajectory as an example of that possibility and thanked the people of the state for their cooperation and support.