Kaduna state has had a sad history of religious clashes, that’s according to Governor Nasir El-rufai.
Now he says his administration is determined to stamp out what he describes as the ‘poison from the negative practices of religion’ in the state.
To this effect, the governor on Friday inaugurated a regulatory preaching council made up of senior religious leaders from the Christian and Islamic faiths, traditional leader and public office holders.
Their responsibilities will be to ensure that preachers of faith in the state do not set residents up against themselves.
The council will also ensure that religion in Kaduna state is not practiced in ways that delibrately inconvenience others.
The Governor recalled that a religious preaching edict to address the situation has been in place in the state since 1984.
According to the governor, his administration failed to faithfully implement it after reviewing the laws in 2016.
He explained that religion must remain a relationship with God and not a bargaining tool for economic, political favours or a trigger for conflicts as it has been seen in the state.
Newly Inaugurated chiarman of the Religious preaching council made it clear that the council was not setup to witch-hunt anyone but to ensure that religion in the state is not use a tool for violence.
Other public office holders were also sworn in to various offices including two Justices of Kaduna state High Court.