From Chidi Nnadi, Enugu

The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church Nigeria, Rev Chidi Okoroafor, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to get key agitators in the country to the negotiating table.

He gave this advice Tuesday at a pre-national convention press briefing held at the headquarters of the church in Enugu, and said that negotiation was the way to go and a global practice in solving problems.

His advice stemmed from the clamour by various groups in the country for self-determination.

“Let’s come to the negotiating table, government should get the key agitators to the negotiating table to see how the problems could be solved; we can find out what caused these agitations and can get solutions. I believe that through this avenue we can build a better nation,” he said, adding that it was important that the government listens to the voice of the people.

He noted that peace prevails in a country when the citizens are peaceful, and that a country would become ungovernable if the citizens decide to go riotous.

“So, when we organize conventions like this, we try to make our members become good citizens of Nigeria and in every of these gatherings we normally devote time praying for Nigeria because the Bible says we should always pray for those in authority and that is what we do,” he said.

Okoroafor who also disclosed that he was elected the President of the Central Africa Assemblies of God Alliance (CAAGA) said that over 100,000 adherents and guests are expected to converge on the Okpoto Abakaliki Evangel Camp of the Assemblies of God from November 13 through 17 for the national convention with theme: Church of Acts of the Apostles.

According to him, preparatory to the annual convention, the church had staged several conventions among which were the men national convention, national youths convention, women convention and the CAAGA convention, all of which he said were great occasions and spiritual rewarding moments for the adherents.

Onya urged Justice Aikawa to hear and determine the application before proceeding with the case on Tuesday.