Churches in the country have been urged to seek active engagement and participation in the nation’s politics to ensure peace and political stability.
The call was made during a two-day conference organised by Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in collaboration with the Directorate of Politics and Governance (DPG), Ogun State chapter.
In his keynote address, DPG’s National Coordinator, Femi Emmanuel, said churches should begin to re-orientate their members to seek elective positions, adding that churches should see beyond praying and making prophecies about the country.
According to him, “the whole body of Christ should be involved in the act of electing and selecting who will govern us in this country. It is long overdue that Christians should be encouraged that politics is not evil, governance is not dirty, so we should get involved in the matters that affect the destiny of this nation.”
Emmanuel attributed the failing of the economic and other developmental policies to absence of patriotic leaders. The DPG’s National Coordinator, who lamented that moneybags politicians have taken over the political scene of the country, expressed optimism that with the presence of DPG across the 36 states, there is hope for positive transformation and good governance in the country.
In his remarks, former Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State, Kehinde Shogunle, tasked churches to begin mobilisation and organisation for the mission ahead.
He emphasised the need for churches to actively engage their members in politics, noting that the righteous ones who can positively transform the country are in the churches.
Shogunle, who lamented the rising cost of governance and how politicians have made the public to perceive it as being lucrative, identified this as part of the challenges affecting good governance in the country.
He, therefore, urged churches to begin to beam searchlight on responsible individuals who can contest elective positions. On his part, Kunle Abdul, who represented the Ogun State PFN Chairman, David Otaru, lamented that those who exhibit leadership traits should not be made pastors but pushed to become a politicians.He urged every intending politician to be closer to God and allow the teachings of the scripture to be their guide.
