The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his government will partner with religious bodies in the State to safeguard the environment, ensuring a cleaner and greener Edo.

Obaseki said this when he received the leadership of St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Lagos Street, Benin City, led by Venerable Moses Onovwuke, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, in Benin City.

The governor, who reiterated the role of the church in nation-building, said it is the duty of every parishioner to contribute to the growth and development of the church, ensuring it is able to meet its expected role in society.

Obaseki, while making the case for the upgrade of the church to enhance its aesthetic appeal and improve evangelism, stated that the state government will partner with the church to clean up the area which is gradually being taken over by scavengers.

According to him, “It’s the duty of every parishioner to contribute their quota to the development of the Church they worship in to enable them to impact the communities they operate in.

“St. Peter’s Anglican Church is the oldest in the Community. Therefore, our activities should not be restricted to what is being done in the Church but rather engage in other activities that will make the Church attractive to youths of this generation.

“We should do all we ought to do to ensure that scavengers and those people selling metals don’t take over the Church. It's not as if the government is not concerned about such situations but this is the kind of appeal that the Church should make to the government to work with the Church to clean up the environment and that of the Church.”

He added, “I appeal that the Church property should be upgraded and made more decent to encourage the youths to come into the Church premises to participate in activities. The Church should be made attractive and embark more on evangelism to woo more young people into the Church to take over from the leadership of the Church.”

Earlier, Ven. Onovwuke expressed appreciation to Obaseki for his developmental strides across all sectors of the State, noting: “It’s our responsibility to visit the governor as a member of the Church. We thank you for the promise you have made to help us improve the facility in the Church.”