By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI—Members of the Boko Haram insurgents and their sponsors, have been advised to turn a new leaf and stop the senseless killing of innocent citizens.

The General Overseer of Praise Centre Church International, Bishop Stafford Nwaogu, who made the appeal, yesterday, in Owerri, while speaking to Vanguard, also noted, “the nation has had more than its fair share of bloodletting since the insurgency began.

Boko Haram

“Security of life and property is not only being seen as very paramount, but should also be a first charge in government activity. Insecurity is adversely affecting investors. If investors are affected, the economy is affected and when the economy is affected, the people suffer.”

While appealing to the press to do more to save the country’s democracy, Bishop Nwaogu, urged journalists to use their “platform and talk some sense into the ears of the powers that be.”

On the anti-corruption stance of President Muhammadu Buhari, the cleric said: “We like the probe. We agree that corruption should stop. There should be no selective probe. The Federal Government ought to have taken a reasonable time, if the probe will make some sense.”

Speaking on the theme of this year’s international conference of the church, Bishop Nwaogu said: “This year, the theme is, ‘Blessed to reproduce.”  Right now, everybody is looking for employment. We want to change it. We now want to make people employers of labour. This will give our youths a sense of belonging. We are looking at building people that will team up and go into profitable investments.”