Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has called on Christians to participate in the political process of the nation by exercising their right to vote and elect the leaders that would govern them.
Okowa gave the charge, yesterday, at All Saints’ Cathedral, Rumuokwurusi, Port Harcourt in a keynote address titled, “The Christian and Responsibility”, he presented at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) being hosted by the Diocese of Evo.
He said it was doubtful if 50 per cent of eligible voters in the church actually come out to vote on election days.
“I say that because many Nigerians seem to have convinced themselves that votes do not count. But I hasten to add that they that so think are greatly mistaken. Votes count. I repeat, votes count. Refusing to vote is what gives room for the bad guys to manipulate the process,” he stated.
He therefore called on every Bible-believing Christian to register and vote during elections.
“Don’t be deterred by the long queues or the hiccups that normally happen. It is just one day out of 365 days in a year. I believe we can all afford to pay the price to elect the right people into office. If we fail in this civic responsibility, we lose our right to complain about bad governance or incompetent leadership,” he admonished.
He also called on Christians to ensure that they vote for only candidates who have a demonstrable capacity to lead, proven track record in leadership, probity, and moral backbone to withstand temptation and shun corruption.
“What we must not do is vote for a candidate along ethnic or sectional lines; we should not even vote on religious and denominational basis because there are hucksters who use religion for political gain,” he warned.
On advocacy, Okowa said faith-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should take the lead in fighting for social justice, advocate for the right persons to be elected to office and set agenda for government at all levels.
He said while Christians should support political leaders, they should not be mute when leaders are violating the rights of the people, engaging in acts inimical to good governance, or impoverishing the people through unpopular policies.
The Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, who presided over the session, described the presentation as scholarly and practical.
He urged all faithful to heed the advice and fully participate in the political process in the country to elect leaders who will be God-fearing and meet the expectations of the people.

By: Ernest Chinwo