By Izunna Okafor, Awka
Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has advised churches and religious leaders to make church-owned schools, hospitals and other facilities affordable, especially for the poor and the less-privileged in the society.
Governor Soludo gave the advice on Sunday while speaking at the thanksgiving service to mark the end of the third session of the twelfth synod of the Anglican Diocese of Awka, which held at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Abagana, in Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.
According to him, there’s need for promotion of the spirit of ecumenism among Christians in the state, which will in turn, project the state to a greater pedestal.
While reiterating the philosophy behind his administration ‘as one state, one people, one agenda’; he also disclosed that his administration has started hosting daily prayer at the Governor’s Lodge in Amawbia, anchored by different denominations.
Governor Soludo underscored the importance of churches building and owing schools, hospitals and other such facilities, which he said, had always been major instruments of evangelism and one of the churches’ ways of contributing to societal growth and development, as was seen in the ancient times.
He however, urged all churches in the state who have schools and hospitals to make the services and facilities of their institutions affordable and easily accessible, as a way to assist the poor and other underprivileged members of the society, as well as contribute to societal development.
According to Governor Soludo, his administration is dedicated and determined to provide quality leadership by gradually and systematically rolling out their agenda towards making Anambra a liveable and prosperous homeland; which, he said, also requires the collective responsibility and effort to fully realize, including that of the church.
Themed “Running the Christian Race: Implications for Believers in Perilous Times”, the synod which started on Friday, May 6 and ended with the thanksgiving service on Sunday, May 8, was presided over by the Archbishop, Ecclesiastical Province of the Niger and Bishop, Anglican Diocese of Awka, Most Reverend Alexander Chibuzor Ibezim.
It also had the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr. Onyekachi Ibezim in attendance, among other top government functionaries, synod delegates, and clergymen drawn from different churches across the diocese.
Among others, the thanksgiving service also featured special prayer for Governor Soludo and his Deputy, for an effective and successful administration in the state.
