Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Revd. Matthew Kukah, has been commended for his commitment to the growth of Catholic ecclesiastical work in the country.  The Vatican Ambassador to Nigeria, Archbishop Augustine Kasujja, made the commendation during the dedication of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish  at the Old Airport area of Sokoto, the state capital.
He described the new church as a testimony of Kukah’s unrelenting efforts to ensure that the churches of the saints were nurtured in the North.
Speaking in the same vein, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, while receiving the Vatican ambassador in his palace, commended the cordial relationship existing between the Catholic community and people of the state, stressing that it was made possible by the exemplary leadership of the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese.
The Sultan, however, called for more religious harmony among Nigerians in the interest of peace, progress and unity of the country.
The monarch said the leaders of the nation’s two major religious groups must come out with an educative forum that would sensitise their members on the need to respect and adhere to the teachings of their religions, adding that such would end mutual suspicion and hatred among Nigerians.
Earlier, Bishop Kasujja acknowledged the effort of the Sultanate Council towards promoting religious harmony in the country.
He said as the representative of the Pope, he was in the palace to wish the Sultan and the Muslim community a happy Ramadan.

Sultan, Vatican ambassador commend Kukah’s leadership virtues