Northern Community in Abia, Methodist Bishops Embrace PISE-P

• Pledge support for Kalu’s peace project

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The Peace in the South East Project (PISE-P), which was formally unveiled in Bende seven days ago has continued to receive the support of stakeholders desirous of seeing an end to insecurity in the South-east zone.

At the last count, the Bishops of the Methodist Church in Abia State and the Northern community in the state have keyed into the project, promising to work for its success.

The stakeholders threw their weights behind the peace project yesterday during courtesy visits to the Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, at his Bende country home.

The PISE-P, an initiative of the Deputy Speaker for the restoration of peace in the South-east zone through a non-kinetic approach has already received the full support and commitment of the federal government.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Livings Nwabughiogu, said that the leader of the northern community, Alhaji Saliru Idris, assured Kalu of their full support.

“We will rally round to support this movement (for peace),” he said.

Idris said that the northern community in Abia were grateful to the Deputy Speaker for his positive intervention “when our brothers in the cattle market had a problem.”

He stated that it was through the instrumentality of Kalu that the House of Representatives constituted a committee that came on a fact finding mission to Abia.

“The people were overwhelmed with joy and pleaded with me that whenever an opportunity comes for them to thank you physically, they will like it,” the northern community leader said.

On the part of the Methodist Church, the Arch Bishop of Umuahia Archdiocese, His Grace, Chibuzor Okpoko, who led the delegation, said that the church would be fully involved in spreading the message of peace across the south-east and Nigeria in general.

He said: “The issue of peace is what we are involved in. No peace, no security. I want to thank you for the peace initiative you just started. We are committed to this.

“The good thing is that the governors were involved. For me to see the governors make a pledge, it was a perfect synergy.”

In his response to the respective groups, the Deputy Speaker, said he was humbled and overjoyed that his peace project was receiving the needed support of stakeholders across board.

“We are one nation. We are one. We should always find a reason to come together. I have northerners working with me. This is the spirit I want to build around Nigeria,” he told the delegation of the northern community.

To clergy and the church, Kalu enjoined them to “talk about it (PISE-P) and tell the people why peace is needed”, adding that under a peaceful environment “we can achieve those things agitating you” without resort to violence.