From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El Rufai, has inaugrated the Interfaith Preaching Regulatory Council to guide religious preaching in the state.
The governor, who noted that religion has been weaponized, argued that it shouldn’t be a trigger for violent conflict in Kaduna state.
He noted that some adherents even question the right of others to exist, let alone practice their faith or live wherever they wish.
El-Rufai recalled that Air Vice Marshall Usman Muazu enacted the Religious Preaching Edict in 1984 to address this matter.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Interfaith Preaching Regulatory Council, El-Rufai said that subsequent military governors amended the edict to vary the penalty imposed for violations of its provisions.
“This is a law that has always been in the statute book of Kaduna State but it has not been implemented faithfully. We decided in 2016 to review this edict and subject a revised law to the scrutiny of an elected legislature for the first time.
“We have now a religious preaching law, and we are determined to do our best to help stamp out the poison from the negative practice of religion, “ he disclosed.