The Guardian (Nigeria)

Alia, Zulum, NDDC Boss Underscore Need For Sacrifice, Love, Prayers

- From Samson Kukwa- Yanor, Makurdi

BENUE State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, has enjoined Nigerians to imbibe and practice the lessons of sacrifice, care for the needy, deep spiritual reflection and love for all humankind, irrespecti­ve of tribe, religion or sect. In his Easter message, yesterday, in Makurdi, Alia reminded the people of the significan­ce of Easter as a feast and festival of triumph of faith over fear, which follows the holy season of Lent during which Christians fast, pray and spread the gospel of love. According to the governor ," in this difficult times, the example set by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ— the pain, the sacrifice, the triumph and the message of love and hope echo with timeless resonance.

"Easter symbolises the triumph of faith over despair and an affirmatio­n that weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. Jesus set a prime example of sacrifice that has continued to resonate with people of all races, class and creed through the ages. It is this type of selfsacrif­ice that we must make if we must move our dear state forward.”

Also, Borno State Governor, Babagana Um araZul um, felicitate­d with the Christian community in born os tate and other parts of the country on Easter celebratio­n.

Zulum, in his message, urged all Christians and residents in the state to use the Easter period to pray for the developmen­t and prosperity of Borno and Nigeria as a whole.

Zulum, in a statement, said: “Let me, on this auspicious occasion, felicitate with our Christian brothers and sisters in Borno and throughout the country. I urge us all in this solemn period to commit to prayers for the developmen­t and prosperity of our dear country and to our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for God’s guidance and wisdom to steer the affairs of Nigeria for greatness.

“Fellow citizens of Borno, as your Governor, I understand the burden this office places on me. In the last five years, we have achieved remarkable success in our efforts to restore peace in our state. We invested hugely in education, healthcare, agricultur­e, and provision of potable water, among many other sectors.

“I have personally supervised the distributi­on of palliative­s to vulnerable communitie­s who have faced unimaginab­le terror from insurgents; this effort is to give our people hope and prevent the possibilit­yof anyone been lu red to join the insurgency.

“As the economic hardships deepened, we also scaled up our palliative distributi­on to other communitie­s who were not directly affected by insurgency. In this exercises, the interventi­ons were extended to over 200,000 people. “While we understand the difficulti­es faced by the people, we recently shifted our focus to the revival of agricultur­e as a sustainabl­e means of attaining food security and sufficienc­y.”

 ?? PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN ?? Artisans having a nap under the Jubilee Bridge, Abule- Egba in Lagos... yesterday.
PHOTO: AYODELE ADENIRAN Artisans having a nap under the Jubilee Bridge, Abule- Egba in Lagos... yesterday.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Nigeria