Contrary to speculations that the Assumpta roundabout at the Control post of Owerri in Imo State has been approved for remodelling by the state government, the Catholic church that constructed it has described the allegation as false and misleading.

Recall that there has been a previous request to reconstruct the roundabout even when Archbishop Anthony Obinna was in charge of the archdiocese but it was turned down.

However, in a statement by the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Archdiocese, His Grace, Most Reverend Lucius Ugorji, distanced himself and the church from the rumour and maintained the same stand.

Ugorji recalling what he told Archbishop Obinna then in office on the request said “Your Grace, thanks for sending me the design for a freeway before the Assumpta Cathedral Owerri.

“I wish to underscore that people’s right to freedom of worship is sacred and inviolable. It involves the right to worship in an atmosphere that is calm, serene, and free of all distractions. Constructing such a freeway, designed for high-speed and noisy vehicular traffic, directly in front of the Assumpta Cathedral is, to say the least, an affront to people’s right to freedom of worship.

“What could be more disdainful to the religious sensibilities of Catholics than to hide or rather relegate the sacred image of the Holy Family under two intersecting overhead bridges? This is totally unacceptable.

“Please appeal to the government not to provoke the Catholic Church in Nigeria and particularly in Imo State by trying to deface the façade of a place of worship and deliberately importing noise to distract people at worship.

“A bypass could have neatly solved the problem of traffic congestion at the Control Post, without infringing on people’s fundamental rights and freedoms,” Ugorji said.

It would be recalled also that the state governor, Hope Uzodinma, on the assumption of office pull down all the roundabouts built by Okorocha and reconstructed a befitting freeway except the Asumpta roundabout. (Daily Sun)

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