The Primate of the Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship) Woridwide, His Holiness the Most Rev. Dr. Rufus Okikiola Ositelu, has called on Nigerians to vote for credible, intelligent, vibrant, visionary and God fearing candidates as the 2019 General Elections draw near.
The Primate made the call in his New Year message to Nigerians.
Among other messages, the Primate recognised the efforts of the Federal Government in areas such as N-Power, school feeding programmes, provision of grants and interest free loans and the ease of doing business policy aimed at facilitating the inflow of foreign direct investments( FDI) into the country, and admonished that the efforts should be constantly reviewed and finetuned.
See Full Text of New Year message:
NEW YEAR MESSAGE DELIVERED BY THE PRIMATE OF THE CHURCH OF THE LORD (PRAYER FELLOWSHIP )WORLDWIDE HIS HOLINESS THE MOST REV.DR. RUFUS OKIKIOLA OSITELU ON JANUARY 1ST 2019 AT OGERE REMO OGUN STATE, NIGERIA
Calvary greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Congratulations for the gift of life and the opportunity to see the new year. To God be all the glory. I urge you all therefore to count your blessings and be thankful to God for His numerous mercies and blessings in the past year and trust Him for a better year in 2019.” O give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His faithful love endures forever”. Psalm 136:1 (NLT)
This period is also a time for sober reflection both as individuals and collectively as a nation in order to avoid past pitfalls and chart a new course for the next level to attaining great and lofty heights, As we all know 2019 is an election year. I therefore call on the Federal and State governments to ensure free fair credible and violence free elections. Electoral malpractices such as ballot box snatching, vote buying, multiple voting, violence during campaigns, hate speech and rigging must be avoided and offenders should be brought to book. All aggrieved parties should seek redress in the law courts as any form of violence will not augur well for the peace and stability of our country. The role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as all Nigerians in this regard cannot be overemphasised.
Similarly the fight against corruption should be intensified more vigorously by the Federal Government in the New year. I wish at this juncture to call for the establishment of a National Hall of Shame for corrupt individuals for posterity to see. This I believe will fast track winning the fight against corruption- the hydra headed monster that has eaten deep into the socio-economic and political fabric of the country. Winning the fight against corruption is cardinal, if we must progress and develop as a nation and as a people.” Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people”. Proverbs 14:34 (NLT).
In the same vein, other national issues such as security of lives and property, insurgency, shedding of innocent blood, restructuring, diversification of the economy (agriculture) power, critical infrastructure, youth unemployment, women empowerment, education, provision of good health facilities and affordable housing should be given due and urgent attention .I pray that Almighty God will give the leadership the wisdom to proffer adequate solutions to these important issues.
Worthy of commendation are some Federal government programmes such as the N-Power and school feeding programmes, provision of grants and interest free loans and the ease of doing business policy aimed at facilitating the inflow of foreign direct investments( FDI) into the country. However these and other policies of governments need to be constantly reviewed and finetuned for better results and impact.
I hereby urge all Nigerians to vote for credible, intelligent, vibrant, visionary, well exposed and God fearing candidates during the coming elections.
In conclusion, I urge you all to move closer to God in 2019 and continue to intercede for Nigeria and may the new year bring you God’s mercy, favour, grace. peace and joy. God shall heal and restore our land so that Nigeria can occupy her rightful position in the comity of nations. There shall be peace, love, abundance and prosperity in the land in Jesus Mighty Name. Happy New Year!
His Holiness the Most Rev. Dr. Rufus Okikiola Ositelu
The Primate of the Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship) Woridwide.