The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), on Sunday, commended churches in Abuja for complying with the COVID-19 guidelines for religious gatherings.

Mr. Ikharo Attah, the Chairman of FCTA Ministerial Enforcement Taskforce on COVID-19 Restriction, gave the commendation when the taskforce visited some churches in Abuja.

At the First Baptist Church, Gimbiya Street, Area 11, where Reverend Israel Akanji, the Northern Central Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) worshipped, Attah expressed satisfaction with the church’s compliance.

“Entering the church through the gate, we met some personnel who checked our temperature and gave us sanitizer to clean our hands.

“As we entered, we saw several hand washing points. This is what the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha and the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, want to see,” he said.

The task force chairman said that the church had truly proved itself to be the light and salt of the world, as Jesus Christ had admonished in Mathew, Chapter 5 verses 13 to 17.

Attah also commended the Catholic Church in Maitama for opening a register for members, as parts of efforts to make contact tracing easy, should anyone show signs of COVID-19 infection.

The Newsmen reports that the task force members also visited the ECWA Church, Maitama, where they met the Chairman of the FCT chapter of CAN, Reverend Samson Jonah.

Responding, Akanji said that the church had promised to comply with the COVID-19 guidelines.
He commended the FCT minister and the taskforce for embarking on monitoring of churches to know the level of compliance.

Akanji said that the church’s compliance was not only to obey the government’s directives but also, to safeguard the health and safety of the worshippers.

He assured the task force that CAN would continue to do its best to ensure that churches sustained compliance with the COVID-19 guidelines.