EL RUFAI’S PREACHING LAW FACING CHAOS AS OTHER NORTHERN GOVERNORS WITHDRAW

The “No-license-No-preaching law” which was alleged to have been unanimously endorsed last week by the 19 Northern State Governors may be heading for the rocks as some of the governors may have dissociated from it, noting that the peculiarity of their states will not permit implementation of such law.

The 19 northern state governors under the aegis of the Northern Governors’ Forum had at their last meeting in Kaduna, were said to have endorsed the commencement of the issuance of license to preachers in the region.
Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State was the first in the North to propose the bill which is still under consideration at the State House of Assembly.

The AUTHORITY gathered that the governors had alleged proliferation of sects and preachers in the region and agreed to close down all religious organisations and institutions that refused to be licensed with the respective state governments.

However, this agreement collectively signed by the governors may not have gone down well with some of the states, especially the middle-belt states like Plateau, Taraba, Benue, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Adamawa.
It was gathered that states like Plateau State have begun to murmur against such agreement considering that it is out of tune with the religious beliefs of the larger population of the citizenry.

In his reaction, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Simon Lalong, Mr Mark Longyen, said though every State in the North was part of the agreement, it might not be binding as each state has its own peculiarity.
Longyen added that Plateau State would have a second look at the law and determine whether or not it could be applicable to the state.