Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has asked religious leaders in the capital territory to sensitize their followers during their weekly sermons on the evils of corruption.
The Minister who spoke at a symposium “on the role of religious preachers in the fight against corruption,” convened by the FCT Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Abuja National Mosque Management Board in Abuja on Thursday, reminded the religious leaders that corruption negates the ethics of both Christianity and Islamic religions
The Minister who was represented by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye, stressed that corruption in any way has negative consequences in the nation’s march towards development and urged the Imams and Pastors to lead the vanguard by consistently preaching against the dreaded menace.
The Minister asked religious leaders to dissuade their members from looking up to corrupt individuals in the society as their role models, adding: “doing this would send a clear message to corrupt people that they are not wanted in the society.”
Muhammad Bello described corruption as a social cancer that must be eliminated totally from the society, insisting that it is the only safe escape route for a brighter future for upcoming generations.
Speaking at the occasion, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan said that the gathering would afford both religions the opportunity to seek practical and effective solutions to the social malaise of corruption.
He enjoined Nigerians, irrespective of class, to take their religious life seriously in order to bequeath a morally sound society for the future generations.
The Executive Secretary of the Abuja National Mosque, Alhaji Ibrahim Jega, urged the religious leaders in the country to make it a point of duty to always discourage their followers from engaging in any form of corruption. [myad]