Cleric flays FG’s plan to regulate churches, backs SNC

The Senior Pastor, Spirit Life Christian Assembly, Makurdi, Benue State, Thomas Shikaan, has condemned renewed plans by the Federal Government to regulate church activities in the country.

In a chat with The Guardian in Makurdi yesterday, the cleric described the move as most unfortunate, adding that it will fail.

He rather threw his weight behind the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) as canvassed recently by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue, to move the country forward.

“I think what the Federal government ought to have done would have been to consult with renowned religious leaders in the country to know how they have been able to manage their resources, including human, instead of making attempts to regulate the church,” he said.

Shikaan noted that a feeling of unfair treatment by some segments of the country gave rise to most of the challenges in the country, which he said, made the convocation of such a conference very necessary.

His words: “For us to begin to move forward, we must look critically into some of the salient issues that have continued to put nationalities on a coalition course with others.

“We must begin from knowing who are real Nigerians to ascertain our real population because, as we speak, you have a segment in our country where people who are below 15 years are allowed to vote. How can you have a credible electoral process under such an atmosphere where some people are already placed in advantageous position ahead of others, even before elections are conducted?”

The cleric also slammed the Federal Government’s bent on policies only targeted at advancing the economic interest of a particular segment of Nigerians.