The executive secretary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Rev. Yakubu Pam, has charged South-east church leaders to interact and recommend the way forward for peace-building in the country.
He gave the charge recently in Enugu at a meeting with the church leaders in the South-east zone.
This was contained in a press statement issued in Abuja by the Commission’s media unit.
According to the NCPC boss, the need to restore peace in the South- east large necessitated the meeting with religious leaders in the region.
“When a nation is in need of peace, the religious leaders gather to pray for such a nation. The EndSARS protests brought about the need for religious leaders to come together to promote peace across the country. This peace-building initiative with the church leaders began in the South-west and has now come to the South- east from where it would go to the South-south. I urge you to embrace peace and encourage it across your members and communities,” he said, according to the statement.
He promised to ensure that all the recommendations from the meeting would be forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari “who appointed me to embark on peace-building initiatives across the country.”
The chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the South-east, Bishop Goddy Okafor, in his remarks, said, “Peace remains an essential commodity that the world is seeking. No one makes progress without peace; peace thrives in an atmosphere of justice and fairness.”
Speaking at the event, the Nigerian ambassador to Zambia, Nwannebuike Ominyi, said President Buhari was committed to resolving the country’s security challenges.
He charged church leaders to “do everything possible to preach and embrace peace not just in the South-east, but in Nigeria as a whole.”
