About 200 clergymen of the Methodist Church Nigeria on Tuesday protested against an alleged plan by the Enugu State Government to demolish structures at the Church’s headquarters in Enugu metropolis.
Clad in white cassocks, the clergymen converged at the church building located along Agbani Road, vowing to lay down their lives to ensure that the planned demolition did not take place.
Addressing journalists, the Administrator in charge of MCN, Uwani, Rev. Gabriel Ogbansiegbe, accused the government of political witch-hunt against the church in Enugu State.
He said, “We heard that government is planning to pull down our structures.
“For the four years I have been here, the state government has been against us – we are being marginalised.
“We can’t continue with a situation where government no longer respects the church. We feel we are not safe again.
“We are also aware that text messages have been flying about castigating our Bishop in Agbani, Bishop Onuagha, because of the way he introduced former governor Chimaroke Nnamani during the burial of Mrs. Alice Nnamani, mother of his former SSG, Onyemuche, in Agbani.
“This has sparked off attack on our church.
“We are not politicians, the fact that the former governor received loud ovation was not our making.
“This time around, we are going to resist them. We are ready to die because of our land.
“Enough is enough.”
Continuing, he said, “We suspect political undertone because most of the people in the government presently are either Catholics or Anglicans unlike in the past when we had a Methodist as governor.
“This time around, they don’t want us anymore.”
In the same vein, the Presbyter of MCN, Ugwuaji Awkunanaw, Rev James Obineche, said the church had become tired of the “constant embarrassment” from the state government.
“This time around, we are ready to die and be buried by their bulldozers instead of allowing them to destroy this place,” he said.
