By David Torough, Abuja

The Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has endorsed President Bola Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election, while the Minister of Information and National Orientation,

Mohammed Idris, urged church leaders across Nigeria to use their influence to promote peace, national unity, responsible citizenship and peaceful democratic participation ahead of the elections.

Idris made the call on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the Grand Finale of the 2026 Synod of the Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and the International Communion of Charismatic Archbishops, Bishops and Apostles (ICCABA), held at the National Christian Centre.

The Minister said Nigeria’s diversity required responsible leadership across all sectors of society, stressing that preserving national unity could not be left to the government alone.

“Keeping this country united requires more than government action. It requires responsible leadership across society, including religious leadership,” he said.

Idris reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting religious freedom, stressing that Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths should be able to worship and live peacefully without discrimination.

He cautioned against portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a religious war, noting that terrorists and criminal groups had attacked Nigerians across different faiths and backgrounds.

The Minister said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had strengthened intelligence gathering, inter-agency cooperation, military operations and the wider national security architecture, noting that approximately 1,000 terrorist elements, including dozens of their leaders, were eliminated in the first quarter of 2026.

He also cited the August rescue of 308 abducted Nigerians in Niger and Kwara States as evidence of the continued efforts of security agencies.

Idris urged religious leaders to strengthen social cohesion, guide young people away from radicalisation and criminality, support community early-warning mechanisms and promote dialogue, particularly as the country approaches the 2027 elections.

“No election should be allowed to turn Christian against Muslim, Muslim against Christian, North against South, or one ethnic group against another. Nigeria belongs to all of us,” he said.

He also called on religious leaders to keep their pulpits as platforms for truth, peace and responsible citizenship rather than incitement and division.

On the economy, Idris said the Federal Government was implementing reforms while expanding opportunities for young Nigerians through programmes including NELFUND, 3MTT, NYIF, NATEP, SVCG, SUPA and iDICE.

“Nigeria’s greatest resource is not only what lies beneath our soil. It is also the talent and ability of our people,” he said.

The Minister called on churches and other faith-based organisations to deepen their contributions to education, healthcare, skills development, youth empowerment, humanitarian service and community development.

In a major political development at the event, the President General of CBCN, Archbishop Prof. Leonard Bature Kawas, declared the Conference’s support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, citing the administration’s policies and what he described as its efforts to promote national development and inclusivity.

Addressing the gathering, Kawas said the Church had examined the administration’s record and was prepared to continue supporting the President through prayers, advocacy and public engagement.

“We support him now. We support him today, we support him tomorrow, and we support him for as long as he’s willing to be our president,” Kawas said.

He subsequently declared that the position represented the mandate of the gathering, stating: “This house has endorsed him for the 2027 presidency.”

Representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the event, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, commended the Church for its prayers, humanitarian interventions and contributions to peace, national cohesion and moral formation.

Akume acknowledged the sacrifices Nigerians had made during the ongoing economic reforms, assuring citizens that the government remained focused on improving household incomes, reducing hardship and ensuring that the benefits of reform were increasingly felt across the country.

“We commend our citizens for their patriotism and resilience, and assure them that it will never be in vain, as promised by Mr. President himself,” Akume said.

He also called for stronger collaboration between government and the Church in addressing Nigeria’s security and development challenges, particularly in youth empowerment, education, peacebuilding, civic responsibility and humanitarian service.

“Government needs the moral reach of the Church, and the Church needs an enabling civic environment to thrive. Above all, Nigeria needs us to work together for the common good,” he said.

The SGF assured the gathering that the government welcomed the Church’s prayers, counsel, constructive criticism and partnership in advancing national development.

The Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) has urged publicly owned medical laboratories to pursue international accreditation to strengthen the quality, reliability and credibility of laboratory services across the country.

Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of MLSCN, Dr Donald Ofili, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja during the presentation of ISO 15189:2022 accreditation and re-accreditation certificates to six medical laboratory facilities.

The accredited facilities are International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Lagos Laboratory, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) Diagnostics Laboratory, Labcrest Medical Diagnostics and Clinic, Agape Laboratory Services Ltd.

Ofili said that none of the six accredited facilities was government-owned, urging public laboratories to attain similar standards by embracing accreditation and strengthening quality management systems across their operations nationwide.

He described ISO 15189:2022 as an internationally recognised benchmark for the competence, quality and impartiality of medical laboratories, providing assurance that services met globally accepted professional standards consistently.

According to him, accreditation demonstrates that a laboratory’s management system, technical competence and reported results are dependable, accurate and fit for purpose in supporting quality patient care.

He explained that accreditation decisions were made by an Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) following assessments conducted by the MLSCN Accreditation Service (MLSCN-AS), ensuring transparency and professional oversight throughout.

Ofili emphasised that he did not interfere with accreditation decisions, noting that structural separation and operational safeguards within MLSCN-AS were designed to protect impartiality and prevent conflicts of interest.

He said accredited laboratories were required to maintain compliance, while periodic surveillance visits were conducted to ensure standards were sustained and quality systems remained effective over time.

“Quality-assured laboratory science is a right of every Nigerian, not a privilege,” Ofili said, reaffirming the council’s commitment to ensuring dependable laboratory results and quality services nationwide.

He said accreditation would improve patient safety, promote reliable results, enhance international recognition, support research and collaboration, improve competitiveness and foster continual quality improvement across laboratories.

Ofili said accreditation was particularly important for facilities such as IOM and IHVN laboratories because of their roles in disease surveillance, public health response and emergency preparedness.

He added that accreditation could strengthen confidence among donors, development partners and regulators by demonstrating that laboratory processes and results met internationally recognised quality standards consistently.

Dr Casmir Ifeanyi, President of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), commended the facilities for undergoing the rigorous accreditation process and achieving international recognition.

Ifeanyi also commended MLSCN for providing independent assessments against international standards, saying the process would contribute significantly to improving laboratory practice and service delivery nationwide.

He urged the Federal Government to encourage public laboratories to adopt quality management systems and pursue accreditation, noting that they handled a significant volume of medical testing.

According to him, modern equipment alone does not make a laboratory compliant with quality standards, citing differences in infrastructure, safety procedures and quality systems among facilities.

Samuel Felle, President of the Guild of Medical Laboratory Directors (GMLD), congratulated the accredited facilities and commended MLSCN management for promoting excellence, professionalism and integrity within the profession.

Felle urged the laboratories to sustain the standards achieved and called for the establishment of a Healthcare Bank to provide financing for critical sector needs.

He said such a financing institution could support the procurement of laboratory equipment, reagents and other healthcare commodities required to improve diagnostic and medical services.

Dr Elochukwu Adibo, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EL-Lab Laboratories, described accreditation as a major milestone because it subjected laboratories to independent external assessment.

Adibo said EL-Lab had maintained ISO accreditation through five cycles since 2013, emphasising that maintaining accreditation was more difficult than attaining it in practice.

He said sustaining accreditation required continuous staff training, consistency in operations and strong management commitment to quality improvement and compliance with established international standards.

Adibo appealed to MLSCN to consider reducing some regulatory costs for accredited laboratories to encourage more facilities to participate in the accreditation programme nationwide.

Doris Calistus, Medical Laboratory Director of Agape Laboratory Services Ltd., said the accreditation demonstrated that the facility had successfully passed rigorous external audits.

She said the certification would strengthen the reproducibility and standardisation of laboratory results, while enhancing confidence among clients, healthcare providers and regulatory authorities alike.

Faduola Oluwakemi, Managing Director of OncoGenomics Laboratory, said accreditation was particularly significant because of the facility’s work in DNA testing and forensic investigations.

She added that the laboratory was also involved in prenatal and postnatal investigations, making adherence to internationally recognised quality standards especially important for service delivery.

According to her, the accreditation strengthened confidence in the laboratory’s results and ensured that findings met recognised quality standards locally and internationally for healthcare applications.

The stakeholders urged more laboratories, particularly public facilities, to embrace ISO 15189:2022 accreditation and sustain compliance to improve the quality of medical laboratory services nationwide.(NAN)

An Ebonyi State High Court sitting in Abakiliki has sentenced a 60-year-old man, Alo James, to death by hanging for the murder of Edwin Omar.

Justice Esther Ota, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday in Suit No. HKW/55C/2025 convicted James of causing the death of Omah during an altercation at a drinking joint in Ishielu Local Government Area of the state.

The prosecuting counsel, Lilian Anya had told the court that the convict assaulted Omah with fist blows on Sept.

Anya, a Senior State Counsel in Ebonyi State Ministry of Justice said the victim later died in hospital from injuries sustained during the assault.

Testifying in the court, the deceased’s son, Nnabuike Samuel, said his father was attacked at about 11 p.m. on the said day, following an altercation with James at the village square.

Mr Marcel Akamabe, the Defence Counsel and State Coordinator, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, said his client would appeal the judgment.

“This is a charge that carries the maximum sentence of death.

“I feel bad because my expectations were quite high, considering the way the matter went and the manner in which we defended it.

“Definitely, we will apply for the Certified True Copy of the judgment, study it and then seek redress at the appellate court,” Akamabe said.(NAN)