Chief Onoja Fetes with New Lokoja Anglican Dean »

Kogi State Deputy Governor, Chief Edward David Onoja was among guests who converged on the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Diocese of Lokoja Anglican Communion, Saturday, to celebrate with Very Rev’d. Samuel Yaba Akpam on his Installation as Dean of the Cathedral.

Addressing the congregation, Chief Onoja lauded the positive contributions of the Christian community, the Anglican Church particularly, to the activities of government in recent years.

He stated that Kogi state plays a critical role in the history of Nigeria as not just a Confluence state, but also as a cultural reference in it’s own right.

He added that: “my faith is further strengthened by the fact that, as I have learned today, the hand of God in our affairs as a country predates the human historical records we continue to read about.

“We continue to thank God for our Governor, my boss, for his zero tolerance for religious bigotry that integrates different faiths for our collective economic and social prosperity,” he averred. Onoja added the historical feat achieved by his boss when he built the Government House Chapel after 28 years of Kogi’s existence. He drew from the Biblical passage, “I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail”, highlighting the strategic move of the Chapel.

He also charged the new Anglican helmsman to earnestly seek the face of God for guidance and be diligent in taking care of the flock God has entrusted in his care.

Earlier, Bishop of Lokoja Diocese, Most Rev’d. Emmanuel A.S Egbunu, in reconciling the history of the Anglican Church in Nigeria and Lokoja, had narrated that though Christianity came to Nigeria a long time ago, the history of the Diocese of Lokoja Church would not be complete without making references to the missionary works of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, who came to Gbobe as a member of the 1857 Missionary Expedition and made the community a temporary Mission headquarters.

He noted that Bishop Crowther on September 14, 1862, baptised eight adults and one infant —the first baptism performed in the entire Northern Nigeria and would later relocate to Lokoja, where he established the Holy Trinity Church now the Cathedral Church of Holy Trinity.