By Patience Aliyu
Gov. Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau, has urged the Church of Christ to unite to lay the path for peace, growth, and development in Plateau.
Mutfwang gave the charge during the 108th General Church Council of the Church of Christ In Nations (COCIN), which held on Tuesday in Jos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the COCIN General Council is an annual convocation ceremony of the Church, with this year’s event marking 121 years of its existence.
While calling on the Church leaders to preach the undiluted truth at all times, the governor charged them to promote unity on all fronts, as Plateau’s growth and development was dependent on that.
Noting the diversity of tribes, cultures and political interests that existed in the Church, Mutfwang emphasised the need for the pulpit to preach unity as the state would not progress in an atmosphere of hostilities.
“The unity of Plateau State is anchored on the Church, if the Church does not get it right, Plateau will not get it right.
“I have said this in many fora, If you take ECWA and TEKAN alone, you have almost 60 per cent of the Church in northern Nigeria, this means that a great responsibility is placed on our shoulders.
“To provide direction and leadership for the kind of influence that the Church should bear in our society, and like the scriptures teach us, the Church is indeed like a city set on a hill.
“I want to, therefore, renew my plea to us, the Church leaders, please do all you can to show us the way, to earn our trust, and to live by example,” he said.
Similarly, the Gbong Gwom Jos and Chairman traditional Council of Chiefs, Da Jacob Buba, called on the Church to continue to uphold the tenets of Christianity, adding that the future of the younger generations depended on it.
Buba, who was represented by the Ujah Anaguta, Pohzo Magaji II, noted that without the various leaders agreeing and forging a common front,
the governor’s efforts alone would not build Plateau.
Rev. Amos Mohzo, President of COCIN, who spoke on current national issues surrounding the Church, urged all leaders to speak the truth boldly, praying for relief from the challenges confronting the Nigerian Church.
“We urge community leaders and opinion shapers to speak out boldly against the ongoing atrocities and the annihilation of communities. This is not the time for debate.
“It is a time for truth, moral courage, and decisive leadership. Our nation stands at a critical juncture where complacency is no longer an option.
“Nigeria must reclaim its moral and constitutional integrity by confronting the forces of evil that threaten its unity and future,” Mohzo said. NAN
