Sultan, Onaiyekan lead religious leaders’ parley on peaceful polls

SULTAN of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammed Sa’ad Abubakar III and Archbishop of Abuja Cardinal John Onaiyekan will tomorrow lead religious leaders across the country in a two-day conference on role of interfaith in ensuring peaceful general elections.

Coming under the auspices of the General Assembly of Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace (IDFP), the conference, which is slated for Abuja, will also discuss the imperative of national security in the conduct of the elections, according to a statement signed by the body’s co-chairmen, Alhaji Ishaq Kunle Sanni and Bishop Sunday Onuoha.

IDFP is a national interfaith and intercultural dialogue forum that has the peaceful co-existence of government recognised religions as well as ethnic groups in Nigeria as its central objective.

The statement said other participants at the conference themed, “2019 elections and national security: The role of interfaith communities”, include the leadership of the three arms of government, state governors, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Other participants are heads of security agencies, traditional rulers across the six geo-political zones, chairmen of registered political parties, labour unions, student bodies, NGOs, socio-cultural and women organisations.

Keynote addresses will be delivered by Mr. J. U. K. Igwe (SAN) and Wazirin Katsina Prof. Sani Lugga.