God’ll Determine My Successor, A’Ibom Gov. Tells Clerics

Okon Bassey in Uyo

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel yesterday asked the people of the state not to put pressure on who would be his successor, noting that would choose who would take up the mantle of leadership from him.

Emmanuel, an executive director of Zenith Bank Plc before he came into politics, tasked Christians in the state to take active role in leadership and governance where they can contribute to the growth of the society.

He made this call at a meeting he held with the leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital at the weekend.

Among others, the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN), Akwa Ibom State, Rev. Ndueso Ekwere and the National Publicity Secretary of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Emma Isong attended the meeting.

At the meeting, the governor challenged the religious leaders in the state to support the state government with fervent prayers to achieve its eight-point agenda designed to lift up the state and its people

He said: “It is only in Akwa Ibom that we hear of the call for successor. In Abia, Cross River or Rivers States I have not heard about such calls. Why is it only in Akwa Ibom people talk about my successors day and night?

“People should leave me alone. We have not fully defended 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.

“Noise about my successor is just too much. Even if God has shown me, I am not going to show them yet. Let us work first. Gone are the days when Christians will queue behind and allow those who have no business to do 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 and murky, who are people who will make the water clean?”

He, therefore, urged fathers of faith under the umbrella of CAN to create 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.

He, also, urged Christian leaders to create awareness 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.

“Continuous voters’ registration (CVR) is going on. Can we endeavour to register? So many Christians are not registered voters. All this ones we are saying will not make meaning if we do not go out to register. When you are preaching in church ask your members if they have registered.

“We keep cheating ourselves as a people. NIN is very important. If I check inside this room, 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. Although most of us do not know, population is one of it’’.

He assured CAN of completing all ongoing projects in the state before 2023, but lamented socio-economic constraints COVID-19 created globally, affecting the manufacturers to produce adequate quantity to ship to Nigeria.

In his remarks, Ekwere assured Emmanuel of the support of Christian community in the state, endorsing his industrialisation drive and peaceful disposition of the state and pledging to stand by him in his succession plan.

Ekwere, however, challenged to name a Christian successor, who according to him, would preserve the legacies he had bequeathed to the state.

He said: “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 on all Akwa Ibomites through industrialization, massive infrastructural development. You must not allow anybody who will worship God in pretence to succeed you in 2023.”

Isong, General Overseer of Christian Central Chapel International, said: “It is God who makes leaders despite our efforts and involvement in politics and campaigns. Once God’s Grace singles you out, He qualifies you for the position.