The Catholic Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Jonas Benson Okoye has appealed to Catholic faithfuls across the Diocese to join hands towards the completion of Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral, Nnewi.
The Cathedral which is being single-handedly built by Senator Ifeanyi Ubah after he demolished the former cathedral collectively built by the Diocese. It has been under construction in the last 12 years.
Anaedoonline.ng reliably gathered that Ifeanyi Ubah, who is currently representing Anambra South Senatorial District, was invited to a meeting by the Bishop, where he was told that the Diocese has decided to take over the construction of Cathedral to ensure it’s speedy completion.
Our correspondent learnt that the new Bishop of Nnewi Diocese who is determined to ensure that the Cathedral is completed under one (1) year, is planning to set up a building committee that will continue from where Senator Ifeanyi Ubah stopped.
It will be recalled that in 2013, Ifeanyi Ubah demolished the Catholic cathedral of Nnewi Diocese with a promise to rebuild it under a year.
In 2015, in a nationwide sponsored interview with members of Nigerian Union of Journalists, he assured Nnewi Catholic community that the church project would be completed by November 2015, but yet again failed. In 2019, seem promise was made but unfortunately was not fulfilled.
On August 26th, 2020, and also on March 2021, in the presence of Catholic bishops, he assured Nnewi Catholic Diocese that the Cathedral will be commissioned during his Golden Jubilee celebration on 3rd September, 2021, but that also failed.
The non-completion of the Cathedral has continued to be a major setback to Nnewi Catholic Diocese, as the Diocese who have been without a central place to host Diocesan events in the last 12 years.
First published in Anaedo Online, https://www.anaedoonline.ng/2022/02/28/nnewi-catholic-diocese-takes-over-construction-of-cathedral-from-senator-ifeanyi-ubah/