Rather than leave disaster-prone area, church insures members

A warning of an impending landslide by the Akwa Ibom State Government has forced a church in the state to insure 500 of its members, just in case.

According to reports, the religious house in question, a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God along the Uyo Village Road, took the action after the warning by the state government.

Reports say the government had issued the warning to all the owners of property along the Uyo Village Road on the grounds that the area was prone to disaster.

But the church opted to remain in the area, and insure its members, rather than relocate.

The Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Mr Ime Ekpo, said during a media interaction in Uyo on Tuesday that the RCCG and other property owners had been ordered to leave the area but they refused forcing the state government to order the RCCG to insure the lives of its members in case the church building collapsed.

Read also: We are not in a hurry to reopen shut schools, Bayelsa Gov says

“They say they have approval. But I will like to see such approval. That church (Redeemed Christians Church of God) structure, we have already given them demolition notice.

“When they came begging, I told them that in about three to four years, that structure will come down on its own because the erosion behind the church is very active.

“By the time we went on inspection, even the first fence they erected had gone down.

“So, what I insisted they should do is to post an insurance of 500 worshippers so that if anything happens, the families will have something to fall back on.

“So, they have done that and I have made sure that it is active on a yearly basis.

“There are a lot of illegal structures in Uyo. In this ministry we have already set up a demolition committee. We have already identified structures that we need to bring down so that others will also know that before they erect a structure they must get approval,” Ekpo said.

 

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