This is as he debunked speculations that Fathers of Faith in the state have received various forms of inducement to support the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Pst Umo Eno, in the March 11 governorship election in the state.
Apostle Okoriko, who spoke during the monthly interactive service in Uyo, on Sunday, said that the church must unite in prayers so that the current economic hardships in the country might not be unnecessarily prolonged.
He said, “Let the church join and pray to God so that the sufferings we are currently going through in the country will be cut short, we need to pray for Nigeria.”
The cleric, who is a member of the Fathers of Faith while dismissing the inducement claim said no member of the church has been induced to support the aspiration of the Pst. Umo Eno adding that their support for the PDP candidate who is also a member of Fathers of Faith was based on their conviction that he would consolidate the achievements of Governor Udom Emmanuel in the areas of security and infrastructure.
An online report has claimed that Governor Udom Emmanuel had “released N50m and distributed bags of rice to the Fathers of faith to support his anointed candidate.”
Reacting to the publication, Okoriko said, “I have not received any amount of money from either Pastor Umo Eno or Governor Udom Emmanuel to support aspirations of his successor. I can also say categorically that the entire Fathers of Faith has not collected money for this purpose.”
He also dismissed insinuations that Christians have no business with politics, saying that development is determined by interface with politics.
He, therefore, called on all Christians to arm themselves with their PVCs and vote for Pst Umo Eno in the March 11 governorship Election to sustain the current peace being enjoyed in the state.
“Akwa Ibom should vote for Pastor Umo Eno. If a pastor like me becomes a governor I would walk freely to his office and the entire state would be in peace. Get your permanent voter cards and locate your polling unit to exercise your franchise. Don’t cause trouble in any polling unit, just cast your vote and walk away.”
