President Good luck Jonathan says he is ready to pay any price for Nigeria to turn around the fortunes of its people.
He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the catholic Bishop’s conference in Umuahia.
Represented by the minister of labor and productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu the president said it is his intention to leave indelible marks for posterity to judge and assured that the administration will continue to uphold truth, justice and the rule of law.
He said that government has put in place programmes to create jobs for the youths,adding that the security situation in the country is being addressed while institutions have been put in place to fight corruption.
According to him, the president has begun a transformation agenda that will take Nigeria to greater heights.
President Jonathan urged the conference to adopt prayer points that will ensure peace and national development.
In his speech, Governor Theodore Orji said that his administration partners with the church and explained that Abia was chosen for the conference because of the conducive atmosphere in the state due to security.
He said that what the country is passing through at the moment is a period of metamorphoses and said that it is the country’s will power to overcome that matters.
The governor who said that leaders were expected to lead by example congratulated the bishops and
The governors of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha and his Anambra state counterpart, Peter Obi commended the heads of churches for managing situations and decried the way things were going in the country.
In his speech, the president, catholic bishops conference of Nigeria, most Revd. Ignatius Kaigama reiterated his call on the federal government to address insecurity in the country by adopting best practices and urged the Catholic Church to be actively involved in evangelism.
He said that the family is a crucial place in spreading the gospel rather than leaving it for the clergy alone.
The host bishop, Lucius Ugorji of Umuahia Diocese while preaching the homily at the mass earlier decried moral decadence in society and the emphasis on the use of artificial contraceptives for family planning.
He also called for a total restructuring of the education system and the return of schools to the mission by governments that are yet to do so.
The papal Nuncio in Nigeria, Archbishop Augustine Kasujja is among those attending the weeklong conference at the end of which the bishops are expected to issue a communiqué making known their position.
