By CHARLES IWUOHA

A closed-door meeting between Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and religious leaders in the state, held at the Government House Enugu, on Wednesday, ended with the leaders of the churches urging residents to continue to abide by the rules and regulations of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as well as all other precautionary measures aimed at containing the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

Addressing newsmen at the Government House shortly after the meeting, the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga, who spoke on behalf of other church leaders, said that the meeting was successful and “we made promise to the government to carry out these instructions and to let our own flock follow suit,” adding that “the details of the meeting shall be unfolded to our different churches.”

The bishop, who called for intense prayers for God to cure and end the disease, said: “God, who created us, wants us to live; he solves our needs and will surely see that all efforts by governments in making sure that this disease does not spread and eventually go are successful.”

His words: “Prayer is important and that is why we are there. So we are all determined to win this war and to all go down in prayers. God knows how this very disease came in and all of us should pray with our own human efforts for its end. We implore everybody to obey the rules and regulations of NCDC.”

In his remark, the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, maintained that the meeting was “successful and amicable.”

On his part, the Chief Imam, Enugu State, Imam Zurqallaini Saeed, stated that the Muslim community in the state concurs with the outcome of the meeting, saying, “all of us are in agreement with what my brother (Bishop Onaga) just said.”

Other church leaders at the meeting include, the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Rev. Prof. Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, Anglican Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Rev. Aloysius Agbo, Bishop Amos Madu of Oji River Diocese (Anglican Communion), the State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rt. Rev. Christian Obiefuna, Archbishop of Enugu Methodist Church Nigeria, Most Rev Christopher Ede, Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Dr. Godwin Madu, CAN State Secretary, Apostle Dr. Joseph Ajujungwa, among others.

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