BISHOPS ENGAGE POLITICAL LEADERS TO SUSTAIN LASTING PEACE IN IMO

Reporter : CHINAZO ILECHUKWU

Some Christian leaders, under the aegis of Special Bishop’s Committee on Peace in Imo State, have started engaging political leaders from the state to find ways of sustaining the peace now enjoyed in the area.

Speaking to journalists after a meeting in Owerri, the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, the Most Reverend Anthony Obinna, said the task of peace building required the collective effort of every citizen.

The Most Reverend Obinna, who did not give an insight into the deliberation, however urged the people of the state to remain steadfast in prayers to ensure that ongoing efforts to put an end to violence in the state yielded the desired result.

Archbishop Obinna said, though there is relative peace in the state, more needed to be done to achieve lasting peace.

Earlier, the spokesperson for an economic group championing peace in the state, Chief Jerry Chukwueke, called on youths from the oil producing communities in the state not to sabotage the economy by ensuring that pipeline and other oil facilities are preserved.

He expressed optimism that the hospitality industry, which contributes to the state’s economy, would soon bounce back to full operation as insecurity is being addressed.

The meeting was attended by some former Governors of the state, serving and former members of the National Assembly from the state