Akume Pledges Stronger Govt, Church Ties
AN era of a stronger relationship between the Benue State government and the Church is set to begin.
Governor George Akume gave this hint yesterday in appreciation of the complementary roles the state government and the church performs to improve the lot of the people.
The governor who made the pledge when a visiting American preacher, Rev. Jonathan Morgan and his mother, Mrs. Priscilla Morgan of the Front Line Vision Church paid him a courtesy call acknowledged that the first hospital and school in the state were established by missionaries.
He expressed satisfaction with the cordial working relationship between the state government and the church and called on the later to continue to exhort the people to exhibit the fear of God so that good leadership and followership would prevail in the state.
According to Akume, while the church takes care of the spiritual rejuvenation of individuals, the state government caters for the physical needs of the people through the provision of infrastructure aimed at improving the welfare of the citizens and the economy of the state.
He promised to assist Moran to obtain multiple visas to enable him and other clergymen from his ministry visit the state as frequently as they wish.
Earlier, Morgan who was introduced by his hostess Rev. Hannah Ikyernum, of the New anointing Ministries thanked the Governor for his assistance to the christian ministry in the state and acknowledged his giant strides towards the development of the state.
Morgan who said he was in the state to preach the gospel of redemption urged the church to take the gospel to rural areas and appealed to the state government to step up its role of providing basic amenities for the people.
He presented a copy of the Holy Bible to the Governor.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Marketing and Research Centre for the establishment of a fruit processing plant in the state.
In his address at the signing ceremony, Akume who disclosed that the first factory will be test run in January next year explained that with the commitment of the state government and its foreign partners the project would add value to citrus farmers in the
state.
He enjoined other stakeholders to be totally committed to the success of the project and called on the European Marketing and Research Centre to explore other avenues for partnership with the state.
The Vice President of he Centre, Mrs. Edith Miller, who said the organisation's mission was to build bridges between entrepreneurs and investors world-wide acknowledged the commitment of the state government in ensuring the success of the project.
Also, Akume has called for sustained enlightenment of the people about public policies to ensure high productivity in all sectors of the economy.
Declaring open this year's national productivity day in Makurdi, the governor who was represented by the state head of civil service Dr. Fidelis Anweh said continued sensitisation of the people about government polices would help them to accept government's developmental programmes.
