Government tasks northern leaders on peace

Government tasks northern leaders on peace

Traditional rulers and religious leaders in the Northern part of Nigeria have been urged to work for lasting peace in the region.

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Communications, Mr Labaran Maku, made the appealed at the reception held in his honour after he was sworn in by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Retarded development

A statement issued by the minister’s spokesman, Joseph Mutah, said that the minister decried the ethno-religious crises in the region, saying they had retarded socio-economic growth and development while escalating the poverty level.

He noted that “without peace, investment in infrastructure and socio-economic activities would elude the north, which is already backward in various indices of development.”

The minister urged the people to sink their ethnic and religious differences in order to unite and pursue a common course of development and socio-economic advancement.  

He thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for re-appointing him and implored Nigerians to pray for the success of his administration.

The minister expressed the readiness of the Federal Government to unite the country and expand the frontiers of development.

The statement also quoted the Nasarawa State PDP Chairman, Mr Yunana Iliya, as reiterating the party’s support for the minister.

The President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Mohammed Garba, on his part commended the president for re-appointing Maku.

The statement quoted the NUJ president as saying that the minister now represents the country’s over 40,000 journalists in the Federal Executive Council.

NAN/Williams