Your Church Leaders, Now Tell me What they are Fighting for: Clerics Hospitalised, As Police Avert Bloodbath In Awka BUT for the timely intervention of security agents, it would have been a free for all in Awka, the Anambra State capital, venue of a national meeting of senior church leaders that make up the United Nigerian Chaplaincy (UNC), where two opposing factions openly clashed on Thursday. The meeting of mainly top officers of the Chaplaincy from parts of the country had proceeded smoothly until a vote of no- confidence motion was moved on the Board of Trustees (BoT). The motion, according to Bishop Julius Akabigime from the Edo State command, was based on alleged lopsided composition of the BoT, which had allegedly bogged down progress of the embattled body for years. The passage of the motion immediately threw the hitherto serene atmosphere into confusion. They held up proceedings for about 40 minutes before normalcy was finally restored. But the state Police command said they were yet to be fully briefed on what transpired between the two warring factions. The members had resolved to, among other things, restructure and reconstitute the BoT to reflect national character and spread, taking into consideration the six geo-political zones of the country. Consequently, the existing BoT was dissolved, in accordance with the articles and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the chaplaincy. In its place a new BoT was instituted, with a balanced national spread. The confusion got to a head when some members allegedly brought in the police to arrest other members, including Akabigime. However, the arrival of the police was met with a stiff resistance from the members present at the capacity-filled hall. Other police officers earlier engaged by the body to provide enhanced security at the meeting came in to restore normalcy again. Earlier, Secretary-General of the Chaplaincy, Chukka Ojekwe, who presided on behalf of the Chief of Chaplaincy, Jide Jisos Ejie, read out a nine-point agenda the Chaplaincy would assiduously tackle. These included peace sensitisation at secondary schools, caring for widows/orphans, dialogue with restive groups and rescue/emergency operations, among other issues. The gathering, according to Ojekwe, was also used for a book presentation and the decoration of some outstanding UNC officers. Two persons, who sustained serious injuries, were said to be receiving treatment at unknown private hospital.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 05:47:56 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015