NOA tasks S'East govts, monarchs, religious leaders, on insecurity, erosion of age long values

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By Iheanyi Chukwudi

National Orientation Agency (NOA), on Monday called on governments, traditional rulers, religious and community leaders in the South East region to look inwards and resolve the disturbing insecurity in the zone.

Director General of NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, who made the call in Enugu at flag-off of nationwide sensitization campaigns on the World HIV Day, Security Awareness, Discouraging Get Rich Quick Syndrome, World Human Rights Day and Tax Reform Bills, also lamented the Get-Rich-Quick syndrome ravaging the youths, and urged the leaders including parents, to take seriously the issue of good morals and ethical practices to curb the erosion of age long values.

Represented at the event by a National Director, Mr. Emeka Egbughara, the NOA boss responding on the concern raised over the continued absence from work on Mondays by most of the federal offices in the South East region urged leaders and people of the zone to look inwards to end sit-at-home and insecurity in the region.

Recall that while state government workers, schools, traders, banks and other private enterprises in the zone have jettisoned the Mondays sit-at-home regime and returned to duties, most federal establishments in the region including federal Secretariat and offices housing federal agencies in the zone are mostly deserted on Mondays.

Insisting that it was only the people of the region that have the capacity to end the so-called sit-at-home and insecurity in the region, he said, "We at the NOA are doing our best to sensitise the people despite the fact that the agency has been underfunded.

There are lots work for us to do. Why you are hearing about us now is because we have a visionary leader who knows his destination. We shall get there gradually to begin to sensitise the people of the region to look inwards.

However, you know also that a man's enemy is usually the people of his house. Those who have instituted this sit-at-home and insecurity in the South East, who are they doing? It's still themselves.

The economy is going down in the South East if it has not gone down. People here should sit together and advise and educate themselves on the evils of the sit-at-home and insecurity in the South East. Security is the business of everyone."

On get rich quick syndrome, he charged citizens to reject shortcuts to wealth and embrace integrity, hard work and opportunities provided through government initiatives to make life better for citizens, adding that parents should teach their children the right values earlier on life.

Speaking on the tax reform bills, the DG explained that it comprised four different components: the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.

He said the bills when passed, would eradicate double taxation, provide support for low income earners as businesses and earnings below N1 million would be tax free.