Former vice presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed excitement at the creation of the new Catholic Diocese of Ekwulobia from Awka Diocese, Anambra State.
Mr Obi, speaking on Thursday to journalists at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, said he was elated at the two uplifting news of the creation of a new diocese and the appointment of Bishop Peter Okpaleke as its pioneer bishop.
According to Obi, it was nothing short of ‘divine design’.
Obi added that anyone who recalled the journey of Awka Diocese from 1978 would necessarily commend all the bishops, starting from the pioneer bishop, late Archbishop Albert Obiefuna to the present one, Bishop Paulinus Ezeokafor, for the development recorded in the physical and most importantly spiritual lives of the people.
Reflecting on the way forward for the new diocese, Obi said he was confident it would follow the trajectory of the development of the mother diocese. He said the diocese was particularly lucky in having an old bishop as its pioneer.
“Besides being an old bishop, Okpaleke is serious-minded, committed, disciplined and with varied pastoral experiences, both in quiet and murky waters that his success is taking for granted,” he said.
While calling on the clergy and laity to offer the new diocese and its bishop the necessary support, Obi thanked the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for remaining a worthy shepherd to the universal church.
