Connect with us

Politics

Tinubu committed to interfaith harmony – Vice President Shettima

Published

on

Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has reaffirmed the resolve of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to uphold religious freedom and interfaith unity.

According to him, regardless of anyone’s position, the place of faith in the nation is not only critical but also provides a framework for comfort among citizens and for the stability of the nation at large.

Speaking on Tuesday when he inaugurated the Board of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, NCPC, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Vice President said Nigeria is what it is because it is a nation of God, and this spirituality is of prevailing interest.

 

The VP maintained that Nigeria’s strength lies in its diversity of faiths, vowing that there will be no discrimination under the Tinubu-led government.

Advertisement

“Our duty is to provide a safe haven for members of each faith and uphold the rights and freedoms in our constitution,” he stated, reminding the board of NCPC of its role in easing pilgrimage affairs for Nigerian Christians, a “sacred tradition” that must be prioritised.

“It is our pledge that Christians will access optimum privileges in pursuit of their spiritual journey. Your duty here is service to God and humanity in the best way possible,” he added.

Shettima urged the new NCPC board members to be unifying figures dedicated to promoting interfaith harmony through compassion, justice, and mutual respect.

His words: “We can only emerge stronger and more resilient as a nation through dialogue, empathy and reconciliation. The nation has grappled with the shadows of division fueled by the flames of intolerance and misunderstanding for far too long. Yet, in the flickering light of hope, we find solace in the knowledge that it is through interfaith harmony.”

Shettima recalled President Tinubu’s promise when he assumed office that his government would have no place for discrimination, assuring that the administration is fervently committed to ensuring interfaith harmony remains the ultimate priority.

Advertisement

“Let us heed the call of the Lord to be our brothers’ keepers, our sisters’ keepers, and good neighbours wherever we find ourselves. We can only achieve this when we recognise that our diversity is not a source of weakness but rather a wellspring of strength,” the Vice President stated.

Earlier in his remarks, the newly appointed Chairman of the NCPC board, Rev. (Monsignor) Cletus Gotan, thanked the President for the government’s support in sponsoring pilgrimage journeys that encourage the spiritual upliftment of citizens.

“We appreciate the interest of the President and his government in encouraging the spiritual upliftment of our citizens by sponsoring these sacred journeys which will take us to our holy places and teach us about unity,” Rev. Gotan, who is the Vicar General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Jos and a former Dean of Education at the University of Jos, said.

The NCPC chairman pledged that the new board would work to improve pilgrimage services.

“We will leave the NCPC better than we found it. We would ensure that we go there for prayers for the government, our families and for people,” he stated.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics

Rivers crisis: Why I won’t make peace with Fubara – Wike

Published

on

wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has revealed one of the reasons he can’t make peace with Governor Similayi Fubara of Rivers State.

Wike accused Fubara of removing a chief in his family and went ahead to make another person a chief.

The FCT Minister stated this on Wednesday while fielding questions from journalists at a media parley in Abuja.

According to reports, the statement comes amid the ongoing political crisis in the State, with Wike and Governor Similayi Fubara at the center of the feud.

“Sometimes when you people talk about this peace, you don’t take everything. You don’t just sit outside to talk.

Advertisement

“Look at me, a former governor, Minister of of the FCT, Governor (Fubara) had the temerity, the audacity, because he has money from federation account, because he has more Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), will enter my own family to remove a chief and make another person a chief,” Wike said.

Continue Reading

News

Lagos HoA Crisis: Let Obasa Stay, Tinubu Tells Lawmakers

Published

on

Obasa

President Bola Tinubu has instructed lawmakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly to allow the impeached and reinstated Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, to continue leading the house.

The President made this position known when he met with the lawmakers at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday.

As reported earlier, this is the first time President Tinubu is meeting the lawmakers since the crisis began in the house January 13, 2025.

One of the lawmakers told newsmen that ” Obasa is staying. We will obey the president. What we had was a family meeting. The President condenmed Obasa’s actions but blamed us for not carring him (Tinubu) along during the impeachement execrise”.

However, the lawmaker said President Tinubu warned Obasa to carry everyone along.

Advertisement

” He also warned him (Obasa) that if there were any future complaints from any quarters, he would be gone. “The President said he should let peace reign; and so based on that, we have accepted.”

On the pending matter in court, the source said: “The President has instructed him to withdraw it.”

Continue Reading

Politics

Fubara not sincere, playing to gallery – Rivers Assembly

Published

on

wike

The Rivers State House of Assembly has disagreed with the claims by the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, that he was blocked from entering the House to re-present his 2025 Appropriation Bill.

The House said it never received any official communication from the governor indicating his interest to bring his appropriation bill to the floor of the House.

Spokesperson of the House and Chairman, House Committee on Information, Enemi George, described the claims of the governor as a mere comedy skit scripted to paint the House in bad light.

George recalled that on March 3, the House of Assembly wrote to the governor requesting him to bring his 2025 appropriation bill to the lawmakers following the judgement of the Supreme Court.

He said: “We were the ones, who immediately after that judgement appealed to the governor to bring his appropriation bill. We acted immediately because we have the interest of the state at heart and didn’t want Rivers people to suffer any harm.

Advertisement

“Despite withholding our entitlements for over a year and demolishing our chambers, we still wanted him to hasten up the presentation in the interest of the progress of Rivers.

“We indicated our intentions in that letter and even gave him a timeframe because of the urgency of the matter. To regularise his appointments, we also urged him during our subsequent sitting to submit the names of his nominees for the positions of commissioners and some boards’ membership for screening and confirmation.

“But, the governor rebuffed our pleas. We sent employees of the Assembly to deliver these resolutions to him. But, as usual, they turned them down at the gate and even brutalized them. We resorted to engaging the services of a courier company.

“But, he still did not heed our call forgetting that there are essential services like hospitals, schools and others to be funded. Our intention was to finish everything about the budget on March 15, so that we could send necessary information and documents to relevant agencies of the government to allow the release of Rivers allocations at the end of March. But, with what he is doing, we don’t know what he wants to achieve.

“How can he turn around to claim that we blocked him from re-presenting his budget? This is the height of insincerity. We even need the budget to be passed because the governor has been owing us our entitlements for more than a year and without the budget, we can’t get our entitlements.

Advertisement

“The governor and his team simply and deliberately acted Wednesday’s drama with a singular motive to tarnish the image of the Assembly. The governor is simply playing to the gallery to whip up unnecessary sentiments. But, it has backfired because the truth has come out”.

Besides, George insisted that the letter the governor claimed that he sent to the Speaker never got to him, adding that it was after the Wednesday’s sitting that the lawmakers saw the letter flying on social media.

He said: “But, even the letter trending on social media was dated March 11. Does it mean that the governor purportedly sent a letter on Tuesday God knows when, and immediately mobilised to the Assembly Quarters on Wednesday morning, claiming he came to present his budget?

“That alone vitiates the claimed purpose. It is procedurally trite that after writing to the Assembly, the governor ought to wait for the letter to be acknowledged by the lawmakers, who will then invite him to appear before them and make his presentation. Governor Fubara ought to know this if he is sincere.

“But, all we know is that this Assembly will continue to uphold the rule of law and will remain committed to promoting the interest of Rivers State. We urge him to do the needful so that Rivers people can breathe. He is toying with the lives and livelihood of Rivers people.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2025 Naija Gatekeeper News