The Catholic Diocese of Lafia in Nasarawa State yesterday unveiled its achievements as it lined up activities to mark its jubilee celebration.

Speaking at a press briefing to announce the commencement of the celebration, the Bishop of Lafia, Rev. David Ajang, said the diocese had recorded significant milestones in the areas of education and healthcare delivery aside its core evangelism mandate within the past 25 years of existence.

The bishop disclosed that the diocese had been able to expand the number of its nursery and primary schools from 10 to 42, while the number of secondary schools had risen from the three it inherited to 16 within the period under review.

He said plans were under way to further expand the number of institutions following increasing demands.

The bishop noted that the diocese had carried out renovations and facility upgrades of its schools as needs arose.

He commended the state government for the return of some mission schools, especially Our Lady of Apostles Girl’s College, Akwanga, forcefully taken over by the defunct military administration to the church, and appealed for similar return of St Augustine’s College, Lafia and others.

According to him, the diocese has also been investing in the development of its priests in the ongoing drive to build a pool of priests who specialise in different fields.

“So far, two priests finished from the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA), Port Harcourt, two from Rome and one from Kenya. Others have finished from different universities in Nigeria. One is studying Canon Law in CIWA, while another is studying civil law at Veritas University, Abuja.

Two are currently in Rome, with many in the Federal University of Lafia and Nasarawa State University, Keffi. Two have secured admission to study Architecture and Economics at the Federal University of Lafia. We still intend to send more for studies,” he explained.

The bishop revealed that the diocese also boasts of a number of health institutions catering for the needs of the people.

“Medical facilities in Gitata, Akwanga and Agwatashi were inherited from Makurdi Diocese and Jos Archdiocese. As at this moment, the number of functional health facilities in the Diocese stands at four,” he said.

He acknowledged that the diocese’s journey within the past 25 years had been fraught with a lot of challenges.

“From the first year of its erection, the diocese has suffered from incessant violent communal conflicts resulting in displacement of people.

“The current insecurity situation is well known to us. Kidnapping for ransom, terrorism, banditry, herders/farmers conflict. This has resulted in the displacement of people.

“Today, some of our parishes are hosting displaced persons. The Diocese always faces the challenge of catering for these people. Despite that, we still do the much we can to bring relief to the victims of these conflicts,” he explained.

He said the current economic situation of the country is also having impact on the development of the diocese among other challenges.