Politics
2023:God’ll Shock Nigerians -Dagogo-Jack
Recently, the Rivers State chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PEN) addressed a press conference in Port Harcourt to inform the public of some of the activities of the group in Rivers State, especially.
Among others, one of the key disclosures made by the state Chairman of the PFN, Rev (Dr) Minaibi Dagogo-Jack was the organisation’s preparation towards playing active roles in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
At that occasion, Rev. Dagogo-Jack declared that the Christian organisation had started the process of sensitising and mobilising its members to be actively involved in the political activities that will culrninate in the general polls next year. To this end, he said the PFN had, in fact, set up a Directorate of Poliltics and Good Governance to organise and coordinate activities that would educate and encourage members to engage in partisan politics at all levels and in all ramifications.
Discussing this development and other trending issues in the polity in an exclusive chat with The Tide in his office in Port Harcourt earlier in the week, the leader of the Pentecostal group in Rivers State said the move by his organisation was informed by the need to enthrone righteousness in the society, emphasising that the political class in the country had largely failed the citizenry.
He said the situation where the church remained detached from the process through which political parties selected candidates for elective positions could no longer be allowed to subsist, arguing that several times, the quality of candidates emanating from the party primaries were not good enough.
“Before now, the church had been so far from real politics and the church would wait until the political parties had selected their flabearers and then we start praying to God,’’ he said, adding that praying when the decision had been made was defective in that sometimes it would mean asking God to make a choice among all bad alternatives.
Dagogo-Jack said, ‘’ I think if parties A,B,C had chosen their flagbearers and you start praying, if for instance, they all chose monkeys, it means one of the monkeys will emerge. So, what we are saying is that we should be involved in the process of selecting flagbearers of the parties. We must also be genuinely involved in the entire electioneering process.’’
According to the state PFN boss, who was one time governorship candidate of Fresh Democratic Party in the state, Christian politicians have no choice but to take up membership of any of the existing political parties in the country since the Constitution empowers only political parties to present candidates for an election in Nigeria.
The clergyman said he was convinced that the social political and economic woes of the country could not be resolved until righteous people ascended the throne of leadership at all levels in the country. He called on true Christians to take on the challenge of rescuing the nation from lurking disaster by getting registered in political parties and also putting themselves up for election into positions of power and authority.
“I’ still called on the Christian body, particularly those under my superintendentship to go get themselves registered, get their Permanent Voter Cards and also be involved in partisan politics. The constitution requires that you must belong to a political party before you can be elected,’’ he admonished , reiterating that the present generally bleak and gloomy atmosphere in the country presents a golden opportunity for Christians to demons trate their identity as light and salt of the world.
“After prayer, prayer and prayer, we must partake in politics,’’ he insisted, submitting that it was erroneous for Christians to continue to think of politics as a dirty game and therefore should be left for less decent and dignified persons.
According to the Christian leader, from the conceptual stage, politics was meant for decent characters and people of honour, pointing out that even the Nigerian constitution envisions only clean people will be involved in politics when it bars convicts and such others of questionable character from contesting or occupying sensitive public offices.
“ So if you think that because we are church leaders and therefore we should not be involved in politics, you are making a big mistake.
‘’ Thank God that one of our prayers has been answered, that is the deployment of electronic devices in the electoral process. We believe that if we mobilize our people and tell them to vote party A or candidate B and they move, it will show the politicians that the church is out for something. 85per cent of Nigerian politicians don’t have the fear of God in them and therefore treat the people with so much disdain. There must be change and we are ready for that,’’ he said.
When reminded that the country had not fared significantly better even when Christians had been in power, the clergyman retorted that a Christian may not necessarily be a righteous person and that only righteous people could effect the desired turn around in the fortunes of the nation.
“ A man may be a Christian but not a righteous man. It is only by righteoness that the nation can be exalted. We will look for the righteous people and the church will point hands at them. At the end of the day, the church will look at those who emerged and point hands at the righteous ones.
“We believe that if an environment is dirty, it will take a righteous man to clean it up. In a great house, there are vessels of honour and vessels of dishonor. The vessels of honour are the carriers of righteousness and those are the ones we will direct our members to,’’ he maintained.
Asked if the PFN was going to form a political party or already has a particular political party it would support and therefore direct its members to go and register in, Dagog-Jack said ‘’ There are existing political parties right now and we have asked our members to join any one of their choice. We’re asking them to join in the process leading up to selection of candidates and at the end of the day, we will see who and who have emerged and we will look out for the spirit of righteousness in them and then make our choice. However, the formation and registration of a political party is a good thinking but we have not started anything in that direction.’’
On his outlook towards the 2023 general elections, the religious leader expressed optimism that 2023 holds better and brighter prospects in the country’s electoral history and urged Nigerians, especially the political class to brace up for a rude shock.
“What I see is that God will shock the people. God will shock Nigerians in 2023,’’ he said, explaining that just as God surprised the world in the way the COVID-19 pandemic affected the developed countries more severely than the less privileged countries with weaker and more vulnerable health systems, He will greatly disappoint the powerful and entrenched politicians in the country.
“Some people think that they have the political power, the political where withal, the political strength and money, they will be disappointed,’’ he said while expressing the view that the 2022 Electoral Act will make a lot of difference in our electoral system.
“ Number two, a lot of things are not going to be the same in 2023 with the deployment of technology in the election process. Rigging is going to be minimised, if not eliminated. Issues of over bloated results, ghost names in the voters register and sundry irregularities like thuggery, ballot box snatching and ballot box stuffing will be eliminated.
“ Under the new law, political parties have as much as six months instead of the previous three months to canvass for votes. This is ample time for parties to take their campaigns to all the nooks and crannies of the country. We therefore expect that the result that will come can be said to be a result that truly reflects the wishes of the people, especially with the electronic transmission of results from the polling units. So, I think there will be a great difference in our electoral system in 2023,’ he said.
“Our national leaders have decided and I speak only their decision here, that the next president of Nigeria must come from the South. That is the position of PFN all over the world, the state Christian leader said emphatically.
He said members of his body will also not be kindly disposed to a Muslim/Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election while they are whole heartedly out for a Christian as president.
“Our brothers, the Muslims,through Muhammadu Buhari, have produced the President covering eight years. For justice and fairness sake, we the christians are asking for a Christian President this time around. That is what we stand for and we have not moved from that stand,’’ the Charistian clergy man said.
On whether he himself was interested in any elective office come 2023, the one time gubernatorial flagbearer said he had no such plans but that his organization would encourage, support and assist its members who cared to contest for office at any level.
“ PFN can’t sponsor any candidate. That is for only political parties to do . However, PFN can assist in their prayers and also assist in directing our people to vote a candidate. You say endorse, I say we will point our hands at particular candidates for our people to vote. This is what we will do,’’he said, claiming that a research indicates that the Pentecostals are as much as 65million and they are prepared to delploy that strength to good advantage in the 2023 general elections.
By: Opaka Dokubo
The Tide source reports that Prof. Akinoso was elected alongside 38 other executive members of the party at the congress held on Saturday.
Other executive members are Dr Abiola Olaonipekun, who emerged as Secretary, Alhaja Latifah Latifu, Women Leader and Mr A. Adeleke, elected as Youth Leader.
It was learnt that the congress, which took place at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Oke Ado in Ibadan, was attended by representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Police, other security agencies and prominent members of the party.
The election was supervised by electoral committee members, among whom were Prince Diran Odeyemi, who served as Chairman, Hon. Awoniyi Tolulope, Mr Babatunde Gbadamosi, Queen Stepheine Oyechere, Alhaji Yusuf Abidakun, Mr Olumide Aguda and Dr Phillips Adeniyi, who served as Secretary.
Prof. Akinoso, in his inaugural address, urged members of the party to set aside intra-party differences.
He advised them to concentrate their resources on the promotion of the party, saying, “The primary responsibilities of party executive members are to coordinate party activities, ensure harmony among members, and ensure party victory during general elections.
“Our immediate assignments are to key into INEC released 2027 general election time-tables. As directed by the National Caretaker Committee of PDP, our party e-membership registration starts next week. We must be fully involved and do a membership drive.
“A political party is only relevant and benefits its members if it wins the election. This is our goal. We should set aside intra-party differences; concentrate our resources towards the promotion of the party. We will make necessary consultations and dialogue to actualise this”.
President Tinubu disclosed this during an interfaith breaking of fast with senior journalists and media executives at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Saturday.
He also disclosed that his administration had opened up on the principles of true federalism to the extent that local governments now get direct allocation from the Federal Government.
“There’s no morning that I ever leave my house without going through the newspapers. It’s an addiction. I read all of you.
“It might not be in full detail, but headline, the one that would hit me and the ones that won’t.
“At the beginning of this administration, I was just a little bit stubborn, looking at opportunities to correct things and make life more easier for the downtrodden.
“We’ve opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money, but how they use it is in your hands. So, don’t bombard me alone,” President Tinubu said.
The ruling party said the ADC had turned criticism of the APC-led administration into its operating manifesto instead of presenting concrete solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, the party dismissed the ADC’s interpretation of a report presented at a policy dialogue organised by Agora Policy which suggested that the country’s poverty rate had risen from 49 per cent to 63 per cent.
Mr Morka said the opposition party’s reaction to the report as a “damning verdict” on the government’s economic policies reflected either ignorance of economic realities or deliberate political mischief.
“The African Democratic Congress’ attempt to spin a recent report presented at the Agora Policy dialogue indicating a rise of poverty rate of 63 per cent from 49 per cent as a damning verdict on this administration’s economic policies speaks either to its shocking ignorance of economic policy or its wilful blindness to the justification for, and transformative impacts of, ongoing economic reforms,” he said.
The APC spokesman noted that the report itself recognised the necessity of reforms aimed at correcting long-standing structural distortions in the economy.
According to him, the ADC had failed to present any credible alternative policy direction for Nigerians.
“Clearly, the ADC does not recognise itself as a political party. The ADC has not articulated a single alternative policy position or prescription of benefit to Nigerians. Condemning the APC and its policies has become its operating manifesto,” Mr Morka said.
He explained that major economic decisions taken by President Bola Tinubu, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of multiple foreign exchange windows, were necessary steps to rescue the country’s economy from collapse.
Mr Morka said the subsidy regime had for years placed a heavy burden on public finances, consuming trillions of naira annually while encouraging corruption, fuel smuggling and inefficiencies in the system.
He added that the reforms had helped redirect national resources to key sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education and social development.
The APC spokesman acknowledged that economic reforms often come with short-term hardship but stressed that the measures were essential to build a stronger and more resilient economy.
“Economic reform is never cost-free anywhere in the world. The transient hardship experienced by Nigerians was an inevitable cost of reforms meant to build and guarantee a better future for all Nigerians,” he said.
Mr Morka maintained that the country’s economic outlook was already improving, citing recent growth figures and stronger external reserves.
“Our economy has rebounded and is expanding steadily. The country’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.4 per cent last year and is projected to expand by 5.5 per cent this fiscal year, with foreign reserves now exceeding $50 billion,” he stated.
He also pointed to government initiatives designed to cushion the effects of economic adjustments on citizens, including cash transfer programmes, student loan schemes and the rollout of compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives to reduce transportation costs.
Mr Morka reaffirmed that the APC-led administration would remain focused on rebuilding the economy and expanding social investments to support vulnerable Nigerians.