The increase in school fees throughout the nation has made it challenging for the impoverished students to complete their education, according to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, or CBCN.

The communiqué, which was written by the Catholic Bishops and signed by the President, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, and Secretary, Bishop Donatus Ogun, at the conclusion of the second plenary meeting in Abuja.

Bishop Felix Ajakaye of the Ekiti Diocese delivered the statement to media in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital of Ekiti.

The bishops said that the elimination of the gasoline subsidy “has led to the high cost of food items, transportation, and meeting up with other essential needs,” noting that Nigerians have been forced to live in poverty, hunger, misery, and suffering.

Religion, civic duty, and the creation of a better Nigeria was the theme of a communiqué that said, “We regarded the use of palliative measures as a therapy of the symptom rather than the cure of the illness.

“We urged all levels of government to provide the right conditions for more employment to be created for Nigeria’s throngs of jobless young. The government should implement policies to stop the ongoing theft of minerals and oil.

“We want the government to thoroughly assess initiatives designed to lessen juvenile suffering. We also counsel young people against using crime and violence as an escape from hard labor.

“We oppose the ever-rising scandalous luxury and compensation of elected officials at the expense of the underprivileged.

“We, therefore, demand that the government reduce the rising cost of running government in our nation and that the money saved be used to provide basic facilities and services,” the statement reads.