Politics

Okowa Lauds Church Leaders For Encouraging Politics

Published

3 years ago

April 1, 2022

Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has applauded church leaders for urging Christians to participate actively in politics and governance in the country.
Okowa spoke on Wednesday, at the First Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN)’s Directorate of Politics and Governance (DPG) Regional Conference at PFN’s Alpha and Omega City, Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state.
The conference with the theme “Project Nigeria: The Church, A Panacea For The Right Leadership” had in attendance delegates from Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross-River, Edo, Delta as well as Yobe, Adamawa and Zamfara States.
Okowa said that the church must first realise that it had a huge advantage if it remained united in its quest to ensure that the right leaders were voted into office.
He called on church leaders to be united in prayers, trusting God to show the broad path to the success of the nation.
The governor urged Christians to seek the face of God continually, adding that “when the spirit of God leads there will be no failures”.
“I want to thank the Church for beginning to think in this direction. It must be of note that the church is not trying to divide the nation but to unite us with the right communication on our participation in politics and governance.
“For us to awaken the giant in us, we must, first of all, realise that we are a giant.
“The Church of Christ in itself is a giant and it is possible for us to do a lot of things through prayers and actions because faith without works is dead,” he said.
He said for Christians to succeed in politics, they must put the nation first and not personal interests.
“If the church is genuinely involved in the political process and governance, it is possible for them to make some recommendations on good governance.
“If somebody is truly nominated into a position by the church, there are lots of ways the church can play an active role to ensure accountability in governance.
“We are just starting but in the near future, we may be able to dictate the face of politics in the country,” Okowa added.
He admonished Christians contesting in elections to conduct themselves with the fear of the Lord, saying “we want a united Nigeria and we want a situation where those who truly believe in God find themselves in leadership positions and be accountable to God.
“Sometimes when some leaders emerge they become too big for the church. You can’t be too big for God or the church; there is a lot of teaching and communications to be done to enlighten leaders on the need to be accountable to God,” he stated.
Earlier, the National Director of DPG, Rev. Femi Emmanuel, said the directorate was established to mobilise, sensitise, educate and awaken the giant in the church.
He described the church as a “sleeping giant” and disclosed that PFN alone had 65 million Nigerians as members.
“You can’t have such a number and the country is dying. The giant has arisen and we are no longer asleep. Without organising our members we are just many for nothing.
“We are still going to be praying but beyond prayers, we must be involved. The DPG has arisen to change the character and way of how governance is carried out in the country,” he said.
Emmanuel commended the South-South zone of the group for a successful conference and called on all churches under PFN to set up DPG, from National to local assemblies.
Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Delta Chapter, DrSylvanusOkorotie, urged Christians in the state to arm themselves with their voter cards and ensure that they voted on election days to install the right leadership for the country.
Welcoming guests earlier, the South-South Chairman of PFN, Apostle David Zilly-Aggrey, had said that the DPG was an arm of the PFN saddled with the responsibility of sensitising Christians to believe and participate in politics to install the right leadership at all levels.
The highpoint of the occasion was the installation of Governor Okowa and Amayanabo of Twon-Brass, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, as Grand Patron and Grand Patron Emeritus of PFN, South-South.

Politics

INEC Denies Registering New Political Parties

Published

5 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has not registered any new political parties.

The commission gave the clarification in a statement on its X (formerly Twitter) handle last Wednesday.

It described the purported report circulated by some online social media platforms on the registration of two new political parties by INEC as fake.

“The attention of INEC has been drawn to a fake report making the rounds about the registration of two new political parties, namely “Independent Democrats (ID)” and “Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM)”.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the commission has not yet registered any new party. The current number of registered political parties in Nigeria is 19 and nothing has been added,” it stated.

The commission recalled that both ID and PDM were registered as political parties in August 2013.

INEC further recalled that the two were deregistered in February 2020 in accordance with Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The commission, therefore, urged the public to disregard the said report.

Politics

You Weren’t Elected To Bury People, Tinubu Tells Alia

Published

5 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu has asked Governor Hyacinth Alia to work more for peace and development of Benue State, saying he was elected to govern, not to bury people.

The President said this while addressing stakeholders at the Government House, Markudi, last Wednesday.

He also called on the governor to set up a peace committee to address some of the issues in the state.

The meeting included the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, traditional rulers, and former governors of the state.

The governors of Kwara, Imo, Kogi, Plateau, Ondo, and Nasarawa states also attended the meeting.

“Let us meet again in Abuja. Let’s fashion out a framework for lasting peace. I am ready to invest in that peace. I assure you, we will find peace. We will convert this tragedy into prosperity,” he said.

President Tinubu urged Governor Alia to allocate land for ranching and directed the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to follow up.

“I wanted to come here to commission projects, to reassure you of hope and prosperity, not to see gloomy faces. But peace is vital to development.

“The value of human life is greater than that of a cow. We were elected to govern, not to bury people”, he stressed.

He charged Governor Alia on working with the Federal Government to restore peace.

“Governor Alia, you were elected under the progressive banner to ensure peace, stability, and progress. You are not elected to bury people or comfort widows and orphans. We will work with you to achieve that peace. You must also work with us”, he said.

In his remarks, Governor Alia appealed to the Federal Government to establish a Special Intervention Fund for communities affected by repeated violent attacks across the state.

“Your Excellency, while we continue to mourn our losses and rebuild from the ashes of pain, we humbly urge the Federal Government to consider establishing a special intervention fund for communities affected by these incessant attacks in Benue State,” he said.

Governor Alia said the fund would support the rehabilitation of displaced persons, reconstruction of destroyed homes and infrastructure, and the restoration of livelihoods, especially for farmers.

He reiterated his support for establishing state police as a lasting solution to insecurity.

The governor pledged his administration’s full commitment to building a safe, stable, prosperous Benue State.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Rulers Council, Tor Tiv, Orchivirigh, Prof. James Ayatse, praised President Tinubu for being the first sitting President to personally visit victims in the hospital in the wake of such a tragedy.

He thanked the President for appointing notable Benue indigenes into key positions, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, while expressing hope that more appointments would follow.

Politics

Gowon Explains Why Aburi Accord Failed

Published

5 days ago

June 20, 2025

The Tide

Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (ret’d), says the Aburi accord collapsed because Chukwuemeka Ojukwu wanted regional governors to control military zones.

Gen. Gowon was Nigeria’s military ruler from 1966 until 1975 when he was deposed in a bloodless coup while Ojukwu was military governor of the then Eastern Region in that span.

In a live television interview recently, Gen. Gowon narrated what transpired after the agreement was reached in Aburi, a town in Ghana.

The meeting that led to the accord took place from January 4 to 5, 1967, with delegates from both sides of the divide making inputs.

The goal was to resolve the political impasse threatening the country’s unity.

The point of the agreement was that each region should be responsible for its own affairs.

During the meeting, delegates arrived at certain resolutions on control and structure of the military. However, the exact agreement reached was the subject of controversy.

The failure of the Aburi accord culminated in Nigeria’s civil war, which lasted from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970.

Speaking on what transpired after the agreement, Gen. Gowon said the resolutions should have been discussed further and finalised.

The ex-military leader said he took ill after arriving in Nigeria from Aburi and that Ojukwu went on to make unauthorised statements about the accord.

Gen. Gowon said he did not know where Ojukwu got his version of the agreement from.

“We just went there (Aburi), as far as we were concerned, to meet as officers and then agree to get back home and resolve the problem at home. That was my understanding. But that was not his (Ojukwu) understanding,” he said.

Gen. Gowon said Ojukwu declined the invitation, citing safety concerns.

“I don’t know what accord he (Ojukwu) was reading because he came to the meeting with prepared papers of things he wanted. And, of course, we discussed them one by one, greed on some and disagreed on some.

“For example, to give one of the major issues, we said that the military would be zoned, but the control… He wanted those zones to be commanded by the governor.

“When you have a military zone in the north, it would be commanded by the governor of the military in the north, the military zone in the east would be commanded by him. Of course, we did not agree with that one”, Gen. Gowon added.

Ojukwu died on November 26, 2011 at the age of 78.