ANC praises Lagos State government over its plans to prosecute TB Joshua and Scoan

SOUTH Africa's African National Congress (ANC) has praised Governor Akinwunmi Ambode over his plans to prosecute the Synagogue Church of All Nations (Scoan) founder Pastor TB Joshua over the collapse of his Lagos church that led to the death of 116 people.

 

On September 12 last year, Pastor Joshua's six-storey hotel and guest house in the Lagos suburb Ikotun collapsed, killed about 116 persons, of which about 84 of them were South Africans. Following the accident, the Lagos State government initiated an inquiry into the incident, chaired by Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, which has made several recommendations in its report.

 

Now that the coroners' report is available, the leadership of the ANC, South Africa’s ruling party has backed Governor Akinwunmi Ambode over his plans to prosecute the church. In her report, the coroner recommended the prosecution of the church owned by Prophet Joshua and the contractors handling the project.

 

Yesterday, the ANC's treasurer Dr Zwelini Mkhize, paid a courtesy visit to Governor Ambode at the State House, Ikeja, and commended the state government’s stance on the coroner verdict. He expressed appreciation to the state government for its effort in ensuring that the South African nationals who were involved in the unfortunate incident were successfully repatriated to the country for burial.

 

Dr Mkhize said: “We do appreciate this relationship, we must say that we are very pleased to learn of your decision in terms of the synagogue disaster in Lagos last year. Certainly, while we all appreciate the assistance that you made to ensure that all of the victims were repatriated back to South Africa, we would continue to support whatever work is being done on your side.”

 

He added that the crux of the visit was to seek ways to strengthen bi-lateral trade between South Africa and Nigeria, pointing out that the trade level between both countries was currently on a high. Dr Mkhize added that both countries stood to benefit from each other in terms of trade and investments.

 

Governor  Ambode reiterated his commitment to boosting trade relations with South Africa, describing the visit as a brotherhood meeting. He listed the areas of cooperation to include the strengthening of security towards building a safer Lagos which will not only safeguard existing investments in Lagos but also attract new businesses into the state.

 

“We have established an Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment, so that we can strengthen bi-lateral relationships. We need more investors to come into Lagos so that we can create employment and grow our gross domestic product.

 

Whatever it is you think we can do to increase investors from South Africa, we are ready to talk. We hope you would also create the same platform for business men from Nigeria who do business in South Africa,” Governor Ambode said.

 

He also promised to commit to the existing relationship between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ANC saying both have common ideology. Chief Henry Ajomale, the chairman of APC in Lagos State, said the history of the ANC and its iconic leader, late Nelson Mandela is deep rooted, adding that the two parties can benefit from each other on all fronts.