Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha Thursday said he had not intervened in the leadership crisis at the Ahiara Catholic Diocese because he wanted to see whether the concerned parties could resolve the matter themselves.
Receiving some priests from the diocese at the Government House in Owerri, the governor said the current situation called for his intervention because the crisis was not good for the state, the Catholic Church or Mbaise people in particular.
He said he decided to mediate to help resolve the crisis in the overall interest of the diocese, Mbaise people, the Catholic Church and Imo State in general.
The priests said they must have been misrepresented before the Pope following his decision on the choice of bishop for Ahiara Diocese.
They had come on the visit a few days after meeting with the Pope in Rome over the crisis.
The delegation, including some old priests in the diocese and Rev. Monsignor Edward Amakiri, met the governor behind closed doors to discuss how best to quickly resolve the crisis.
