S’ Kaduna Christian leaders, SOKAPU shun peace summit
By Idibia Gabriel
Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Association (SKCLA) has boycotted the peace summit organised by the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) and Concerned Citizens of Southern Kaduna, for sidelining key stakeholders in the region.
The association in a press statement signed by the chairman, Bishop Simon Peters Mutum, lamented that key stakeholders who had been bearing the brunt of the genocide against their people over the years only heard about the summit few hours to its commencement.
The leaders said that from all indications, arrangements had been completed without the involvement of key stakeholders from Southern Kaduna that have been suffering the ordeal.
The statement reads in part: “We are deeply concerned about who the ‘Friends of Southern Kaduna’ are and what their real motives may be.
We are also troubled that a Peace Summit can be organized for a people without involving the key leaders of the people.
“So, in as much as we would love to be part of a peace summit, we want to know who the organizers are and what they really want to achieve by this summit, going by the way they planned it.
“We will also want an explanation as to why the leadership of SOKAPU, CAN and SKCLA were sidelined in the planning of the summit.
“We would have wished that the peace summit be rescheduled until all our questions are properly answered and every key player (the youths, CDAs, traditional institution, regional groups of interest and religious groups) are contacted, organised and carried along, and that is our prayer.”
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The religious leaders advised that the Peace Summit be postponed; adding that a new ground work should be properly done.
“If, however, the Summit progresses as planned, the SKCLA, in conjunction with other Christian groups, will have no option but to withdraw its participation.”
