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Address Jos Crises Now, New Primate Tells FG
he new Primate of Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), His Grace, Most Rev Nicholas Okoh has charged Nigerian government to address sectarian crisis particularly Jos, lest people will be forced to take up arms to avenge evil perpetrated on them.
“Enough is enough in Jos mayhem. We have series of commission of inquires in the past in event of Jos crisis and nothing good came out of them. This time around, the law should be evoke on perpetrators of Jos crisis less the people will revert to self defence and this is not healthy enough to national development, “ the new Primate told a large congregation the included the Acting President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.
Preaching his sermon at a church service at the Cathedral Church of the Advert, Gwarinpa, Abuja, Okoh said government can not continue to treat sectarian crisis especially, that of Jos with kid gloves. The church service was to kick-start the primacy of Okoh and the end of his predecessor, Archbishop Peter Akinola.
The new Primate said people should not hide under any cloak to circumvent national development and advocated for human face in addressing national issues.
Okoh, however, has a word for the Christians. He advised them to go in to the musky waters of politics to contribute towards changing a bad system for the good of the people.
He also stressed the need for the church to be involved in the establishment of new schools to bring up children on sound Christianity background to guarantee a better tomorrow.
He told the federal government to pursue the post amnesty programmes with vigour, even as he made a case for government to address poverty and suffering in the land.
He assured that his primacy will witness renewed fight against same sex marriage in all its ramifications and advised those engaged in such unholy marriage to repeat and return back to spirituality and Christ.
The theme of Okoh’s sermon was Jesus is Lord.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has reaffirmed his resolve to remain steadfast in delivering development projects across the state, declaring that political distractions will not derail his administration’s commitment to the people.
The governor gave the assurance last Wednesday, while inspecting the ongoing rehabilitation of major roads within the old Port Harcourt Township, including the Creek Road Market project.
Apparently reacting to the prevailing political atmosphere, Fubara insisted that his priority remains governance and service delivery, not political pressures.
“I have promised our people that no matter the situation, we will not lose focus on governance,” he said.
“They entrusted us with leadership, and the least we owe them is confidence, stability and the assurance that governance will continue strongly.” he added.
Accompanied by Engineer Michel Issa of Setraco Nigeria Limited, Fubara toured several completed and ongoing roadworks, inspecting rehabilitated streets around Moore House before concluding the exercise at the Creek Road Market.
Speaking on the market redevelopment, the governor described the project as central to the revival of the old Port Harcourt township, noting that the modernisation of the facility would restore its lost glory and improve commercial activities in the area.
He explained that the new market was designed to accommodate traders currently operating on the roads, a situation he said contributes to traffic congestion and the rapid deterioration of road infrastructure along Creek Road.
“What are we trying to do? You can see the difficulty in driving through Creek Road because we don’t have proper settlement for marketers,” Fubara said, adding, “If we fix this market, those trading on the streets will move inside.”
According to him, relocating traders into the market will make it easier to properly rehabilitate the roads and preserve their structural integrity, while also enhancing the aesthetics of the township
On the road network, the governor disclosed that the rehabilitation works span from Borokiri through all major streets in the old township, stressing that the approach is holistic and aimed at delivering lasting infrastructure upgrade.
