Islamic Banking Makes People Apprehensive – Cleric

The Bishop of Kubwa Diocese (Anglican Communion), Rt. Reverend Duke Akamisoko, has said that the proposed Islamic Banking is making some people to be apprehensive, saying that the development is overheating the polity.

The cleric, who spoke to journalists at the Pre- Synod press conference in Abuja yesterday, added that World Bank statistics had revealed that 60-70 per cent of citizens of countries like Pakistan, Kuwait, Sudan that had practiced Islamic banking for over 40 years lived below poverty level.

He said, “Countries like Iran with half of the total number of Islamic banking worldwide have nothing to show that their countries have performed beyond average”.
The cleric also advised the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, “to leave private individuals who desire it to establish and run it, rather than using federal government resources to pursue a partial and emotive agenda”.

The Bishop further stated that the purpose of the briefing was to intimate Nigerians of the upcoming Synod the diocese of Kubwa (Anglican communion) with a theme titled , ” Occupy Till I Come”, taken from the book of Luke, Chapter 19 verse 13 which begins from July 21 to 24 in Abuja.

The cleric said, “The theme was chosen to emphasise the need for hard work, as work culture was being eroded and work ethics lost in the system. The purpose of the synod was to challenge Nigerians to work hard as there was no shortcut to prosperity or any meaningful development”.

On the issue of the national minimum wage, the cleric said, “Every state government should be able to pay and anyone that cannot pay should resign to make way for those with initiatives and resources. But there is the need for civil servants to be productive to justify the payment of the N18,000 minimum wage.”
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