Don’t let Electoral Act Bill cause war, Methodist Prelate admonishes Nigerians

CHINYERE IKEANYI

The Prelate of Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Kanu, has admonished Nigerians not to let the controversial Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill cause war in the country.

Dr. Kanu who gave the admonition while addressing journalists during Christmas service at the Methodist Church in Marina, Lagos, urged Nigerians to work for peace, genuine reconciliation, natural growth, and national integration..

The Methodist Prelate said: “If President Muhammadu Buhari did not want what the National Assembly proposed on the Electoral Act (Amendment Bill), let it not cause war. Let them reach an agreement, they should ensure that 2023 election is credible and right from the primaries, right people must come on board”.

Urging people not to disobey the constituted authorities, the cleric said that Jesus never disobeyed any law or the authority of the land, adding: “You cannot be a good Christian without being patriotic. We should all support authority’s mission, obey the laws of the land and abide by them”.

The Prelate stated: “He obeyed the laws. In fact, He started with his parent. When His parents went to register for census or taxation, that’s why Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem because he belongs to the city of David.

“Remember that when Jesus was tempted they asked him why must they pay tax and He told them that “give unto Caesar what’s due to him, and give unto God what belongs to Him”, he added.

On lessons of Christmas, The Prelate said: “Christmas teaches us to evaluate ourselves. If we are not going on the right path, we should start doing so. We should eschew bitterness, ethnicity and sentiment. We should ensure that we are fair all to all and that there is fairness. Where there’s fairness, there would be employment, and there would be food”.

According to him, where there’s fairness, “we don’t need to negotiate with Boko Haram or anybody, everything would come naturally”.

Stating that Christmas is not only December 25,”it’s every day of my life, and I want to urge the people to give to those who don’t have”.

He advised the government to make the country habitable for the citizenry, saying: “If the government wants to make Nigeria great, it would take only six months and they would bring peace into Nigeria. They should make this country habitable for all of us”.

He, however, pointed out that “the body language of the government did not show that they want to make the country habitable for us”, stressing that many people did not find things easy this Christmas because of the level of inflation in the country.

Observing that there is inflation in the transport sector and that food items are expensive, Dr. Kanu urged the government to come out and ensure that that peace returns to all parts of the country.

.For a better society