The Lead Pastor, Trinity House Church, Lagos, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, has urged Christians to vote for the least corrupt presidential candidate among those jostling to rule Nigeria in 2023.
Ighodalo spoke on Wednesday in Ibadan at the Femi Emmanuel Lecture Series 2022, titled, ‘Democracy and good governance in Nigeria: The role of Christians in politics.’
He said, “Vote for the least corrupt, the most hard-working among them, and the one that is visionary. We are too late this time (2023), but we must start early for the next election time (2027).
“You must know the vision of the person you want to vote for. What is his vision for this country? The person must be competent. Is he competent to deliver on his promises? That was the mistake made in 2015. We did not ask the question of ‘competence to deliver.’”
Tracing the root of Nigeria’s problems to the British colonialists, the cleric said the North was forced on the South because the South had the means.
He added, “Nigeria was designed to fail, but Nigeria will not fail. What is happening to Nigeria was prearranged to make sure that it does not survive. Nigeria was arranged to fail by the British colonialists, but Nigeria will not fail.
“The church must join hands with Muslims, idol worshippers, and others, but we must be involved in politics. We have to work with them. Jesus Christ was respectful to prostitutes and sinners to save them. If you don’t talk to them, how do you want to preach to them?
The founder of Living Spring Chapel International Church, Pastor Femi Emmanuel, who is also the Director, Directorate of Politics and Good Governance of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, said Christians had prayed long enough and God had answered their prayers since. He said they must go into politics and become active participants there.
Emmanuel, who is a former Deputy Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, said, “Christians were suffering the effects of bad leadership in the country now because they were taught not to participate in politics.”
A former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Ambassador Yemi Farounbi, said collecting Permanent Voter Cards to vote for who some compromised delegates had chosen would not give the people the kind of positive change they desired to see in the nation’s political landscape.
