Methodist Clerics Protest Planned Demolition Of Church

Hundreds of clergymen
from the Methodist Church of Nigeria (MCN),   staged a protest against an alleged attempt by the Enugu State Government to demolish structures at the church’s headquarters within the capital city.
Adorning their white cassocks, the clerics clustered around the church building on Agbani Road vowing to lay down their lives to ensure that the planned demolition does not take place. The structure houses a primary school and other properties belonging to the church.
In a swift reaction, however, the Commissioner for Education, Anthony Uche Okolo, denied any political undertone in the proposed demolition, saying it was rather in the overriding public interest.
He added that government was not comfortable with the leasing of part of the church land to a bank without authorisation.
However, the MCN Administrator, Uwani, Rev. Gabriel Ogbansiegbe, speaking with newsmen during the protest, refuted the alleged leasing and accused the government of political witch-hunt against the church.
He expressed surprise that already, the church had scheduled a meeting with the commissioner for education for a possible resolution of the matter and therefore wondered why the government was still in haste to demolish the structure.