BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has handed over the newly built King David University of Medical Sciences, Uburu to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria to own and manage.
He made the donation during the Episcopal Ordination and installation ceremony of Monsignor Peter Chukwu as the second indigenous Bishop of the Abakaliki Diocese at Saint Theresa’s Catholic Cathedral, Abakaliki the Ebonyi State capital.
Umahi said, “The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, incorporated, March 15, 1956, has achieved a lot since inception.
“I have followed with keen interest the contributions of the Catholic community to the development of our country, especially in the education sector and security.
“The contributions of the Church to the educational development of Nigeria remained unparalleled, and on behalf of the state, I wish to give the King David University of Medical Sciences to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, to own and run.”
The governor explained that the state government found a worthy partner in the CBCN, because of its antecedents, hence his decision to trust them with the management of the newly built ivory tower.
“Our government is looking for a partnership with the Church. I am not of Catholic extraction, but I believe in the ethics of the Catholic Church; I believe in the discipline; I believe in the honesty of the Catholic Church,” he added.
Recall that as part of efforts to improve the standard of education in the state, the government recently handed over seven special schools to the Roman Catholic Mission in the Abakaliki Diocese.
In Episcopal admonition, the President of Catholic Bishops conference of Nigeria, Most Rev Bishop Augustine Akubueze charged the newly ordained Bishop Chukwu to uphold the cherished values of the church.
