PFN Tasks FG on Fairness and Equity

By Mary Ekah

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has expressed concern over what it termed “apparent lopsided appointments into sensitive positions by the federal government” and has therefore urged that there should be balance and an all-inclusive approach in making appointments so as not to exacerbate the increasing mistrust along ethnic and religious lines in the country.

It disclosed this at PFN’s 2nd Quarter National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting held recently at the PFN National Headquarters in Isolo, Lagos, where a number of issues of concern to the Church and of national interest were raised and exhaustively discussed.

Addressing journalists at the end of the NEC meeting, its National President, Rev. Dr. Felix Omobude, said PFN was worried at developments in Southern Kaduna, especially the lack of prompt response to guarantee the security of lives and property, leading to loss of lives of many of the indigenes of the area. It therefore called for more attention to be paid to the plight of the victims of the Southern Kaduna crisis.

Omobude revealed further that a delegation from the PFN recently paid a visitation to Southern Kaduna and made a presentation of N15 million worth of relief materials to the different groups, irrespective of ethnicity or religion. “From this visit, we can see that there is much more that urgently needs to be done for the people of Southern Kaduna and urgently too. We call on the federal government and Kaduna State Government to immediately improve on their rehabilitation efforts,” it noted.

The PFN also expressed concern at the instances of killings across many parts of the country which is linked to Fulani herdsmen who seem to find it so easy to kill, destroy farms and houses, yet are able to evade apprehension by security forces. It therefore called for adequate and appropriate response of government to put an end to the activities of these killer Herdsmen across the country. “We urge the federal government to take the issue of security more seriously especially the spate of kidnappings all over the country.”

PFN restated its position that nomadic cattle-rearing has become outdated and urged therefore that government of states, where cattle rearing is a part and parcel of their culture, should build ranches and develop reserves where cattle owners can husband their animals without travelling long distances where they stray into farms, destroy crops and constitute nuisance and threat to other communities.

The meeting which had PFN representatives from the 36 states of the federation as well as FCT, also commended the federal government for the progress made in tackling the Boko Haram insurgency in the country and the efforts made to secure the release of some of the Chibok girls and in rehabilitating them. It however, urged the government not to relent in its efforts at ensuring the release of the remaining girls and others still in the captivity of Boko Haram.

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