Nigerian church vows to excommunicate corrupt members

The Enugu Diocese of the Methodist Church will henceforth excommunicate its members, who are prosecuted for corrupt practices, the archbishop of the diocese, Christopher Edeh, has said.

Mr. Edeh, who gave this caution in Enugu in his state of the nation address to the congregation at the end of the 42nd Annual Synod of the church on Sunday, said that such people were a disgrace to the body of Christ.

The cleric urged the federal government, as a matter of duty, to prosecute all suspected corrupt government officials in the country, irrespective of political, ethnic or religious inclinations.

Mr. Edeh noted with dismay that some corrupt officials in government were avoiding investigations, pointing out that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, should give more attention to this development.

“The suspension of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal and the Director of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayo Oke, was the height of fighting corruption by President Muhammadu Buhari,’’ he said.

The cleric, however, opined that the investigations should be handled by an independent panel rather than by government functionaries.

The archbishop also called for transparency and accountability in the disbursement of all the looted funds.

Mr. Edeh also urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts on the diversification of the economy to agriculture, solid minerals and industrial development to tackle the present recession.

The clergyman, who advised the congregation to embrace farming, called on the government to check the invasion of farmlands by herdsmen, who had been rendering the efforts of farmers useless.

On the ongoing continuous voters’ registration, the archbishop urged churches to ensure adequate participation in the exercise.

“The time has gone when in the name of Christian faith, believers stand aloof when national issues like the census or the National Identity Card registration pass by.

“Performing our civic responsibility is also a Christian responsibility, we cannot be heavenly conscious and earthly useless,” Mr. Edeh said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme of the synod is, “God’s Word, My Guide.”

[NAN]