Akwa Ibom Christians are enjoined to play active role in political leadership and governance in order to contribute their quota to societal growth.
Governor Udom Emmanuel as the special guest of honour made the call at a breakfast meeting for the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Akwa Ibom State Chapter on Friday at Ibom Icon and Golf Resort, Uyo.
Emmanuel called upon Christian leaders to support his administration in fervent prayers to achieve his vision as encapsulated in the 8-point agenda, but emphasised the need for them to play down on the emergence of a successor.
According to him, ‘’It is only in Akwa Ibom state that you hear of the call for successor. In Abia, Cross River or Rivers state, I have not heard. Why is it only in Akwa Ibom day and night governor’s successor, successor! They should leave me alone.
“The vote that you gave us let us give the dividends of democracy. Let us even account for it. We cannot be a country where we think only of election and not the next generation.
“Please the noise is just too much, show me successor, even if God has shown me I am not going to show them yet, let’s work.
“All said and done gone are the days when Christians will queue behind and allow those who have no business to it, I am sure the event of the past six years has taught us in this country that Christians should no more go backwards but be involved and participate.
“If Christians think politics is so dirty murky waters of politics who are people who will make the water clean?”
The governor advised fathers of faith under the umbrella of CAN in their various churches to arouse the consciousness of the emergence of the third wave of COVID-19 to their members to adhere to the safety measures and maintain high level of hygiene in order to reduce the rate of contracting the virus.
The state Chief Executive Officer also urged Christian leaders to create the awareness and sensitization about Voters’ Registration Exercise in their congregation, maintaining that Christians ought to take advantage of the exercise including registration of National Identification Number (NIN) in order to put the state ahead in data collection.
“Please, the continuous voters’ registration is going on please can we endeavor to register, so many Christians are not registered voters. All this ones we are saying will not make meaning if we don’t go out to register. When you are preaching in church ask your members have you gone to register?
“We keep cheating ourselves as a people. This National Identification number if I check inside this room so many pastors do not have it. So, let us not take these things for granted because some of these things are used as indices for revenue sharing but we don’t know. Population is one of it.’’
The governor, however, assured CAN of his determination to complete ongoing projects in the state before 2023, lamenting that the global challenge posed by Covid-19 affected manufacturers in producing adequate quantity to ship to Nigeria.
The Akwa Ibom CAN Chairman, Rev. Ndueso Ekwere, pledged the support of Christian community in the state to his industrialization drive, peaceful disposition and succession plan.
Ekwere conveyed the appeal of the Christian leaders to governor Udom Emmanuel to name a Christian successor who will preserve the legacies he has bequeathed to the state.
”Your Excellency, we want to say emphatically that our major issues and reason for this meeting with you today is to appeal to you to preserve the legacies you have bequeathed to all Akwa Ibomites through industrialization, massive infrastructural development. You must not allow anybody who will worship God in pretence to succeed you in 2023.”
In his exhortation, Bishop Emma Isong, who tagged his message The Aaronic Legacy from Hebrews 5:4, noted that it is God who makes leaders despite our efforts, and involvement in politics and electioneering campaigns.
Isong who is the President of Christian Central Chapel International (CCCI), Calabar, noted that once God’s Grace singles you out, He qualifies you for the position.
