President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday held a private meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt. Rev. Justin Welby at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the closed-door meeting, Welby said he came to pray with the Nigerian president and also expressed condolence for the losses resulting from bomb blasts and terrorist attacks in the country.
He said: “The bombing in Jos was deeply disheartening because I know Jos very well. I came to pray with His Excellency and express our condolence for the losses.
“God is faithful. In one of the letters that Paul wrote to the church, he talked about the sufferings they were going through being known throughout the world and that is certainly true here because the suffering in Nigeria is known throughout the world.”
“People throughout the world pray for the country. It is a country which I have profound respect and deep love. And like many, I am deeply grieved by what is happening but God is faithful.
“He is always faithful to us and as Christians, in Jesus Christ we believe in His faithfulness and we can trust Him for the future.
“I don’t have words to describe the good potential this country has. There is great difficulty at the moment but it is a country with such enormous potentials. I think Nigerians by nature are joyful, hopeful and vigorous, they work hard”.
The cleric remarked that despite the challenges, Nigeria has so much going for it.
“The country has so much going for it. In the meeting, the President talked about the need of a solution that will reach all people, not just the security but economy, spiritual and every part of the human life”, he said.
