Akinde, Kumuyi, APC urge peace, tolerance, return to godliness

Leaders across the nation continued yesterday to urge Nigerians to emulate the Lord Jesus Christ’s willingness to make sacrifice so that coming generations will have a better country than the existing one.

They also want citizens to set themselves apart for godliness.

Delivering his Easter message at St. Jude Cathedral, Ebute-Metta, yesterday the Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos and the Bishop of Lagos Mainland, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), the Most Revd. Adebayo Akinde called on Nigerians to be ready to make sacrifice so that the future generation will be a better Nigeria .

He urged every Nigerian to emulate the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not hold on to his exalted position, or glory, but made Himself a sacrifice for the whole word, so that as many as believe Him and His sacrifice would escape the wrath of God.

“This is 2016 and I charge everyone to appreciate the death of Jesus Christ, turn away from life of sin which is life of bondage, embrace salvation which is life of freedom and subscribe to sacrificial living. There are things which may look legitimate but if we know that making a sacrifice of those things would improve the life of lots of many people by not doing them, it is worth considering. Each of us is blessed to be a blessing to others. This is the lesson of Easter.”

In the same vein, delivering his Easter message yesterday, the General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Folorunsho Kumuyi, at the conclusion of Deeper Life Easter Retreat with the theme “Experiencing the Power of His Cross” which took place at Deeper Life Conference Centre, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, called on Nigerians to see Easter as a period of God calling everyone to “turn away from sin and every appearance of evil and set himself and herself apart for godliness.”

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on Nigerians to pray for the peace, development and prosperity of the country.
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In an Easter message by its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the party urged Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of humility, tolerance and sacrifice as exhibited by Jesus Christ when he gave His life to save mankind.‎
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The chairman stressed the need for the Christian community particularly its leaders to promote religious harmony among various religious affiliations in the country. He assured Nigerians that the APC-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to delivering ‎on the change agenda promised Nigerians.
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”The 2016 National Budget recently passed by the National Assembly provides ample framework to deliver on these promises”, he said.‎

He also called for greater international cooperation to effectively combat global terrorism “in the wake of the recent gruesome March 22 Zaventem Airport and Maalbeek Metro Station terror attacks in the Belgian capital, Brussels and the March 25 stadium suicide attack in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

‎”I call on all Nigerians irrespective of religious, ethnic and political affiliation to support government in the fight against violent extremism, abductions, mass killings, politically-motivated killings and other criminal activities”.

On his part. Governor Sani Bello of Niger State has called on Nigerians to draw lessons from the selfless lifestyle of Jesus Christ and place the country above themselves.

The governor who spoke at the St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral Church, Minna on Sunday in an Easter message said it was only with the collective effort of all Nigerians that the country could overcome its economic challenges.

Bello who was represented by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa specifically charged people of the state to be patient with his administration so as to achieve the desired change.

According to him “the spirit of Easter is that of sacrifice; the change we are talking about is all about sacrifice. Just as the way God sacrificed His only son for us, we must all sacrifice to move this country forward and no amount of sacrifice is too much.

“Let me wish Nigerians a merry Easter celebration. I call on Christians and Muslims to avail themselves of sacrificial duties for the common good of Nigeria. We must eschew self, we must view issues from a collective-bargain point of view, we must see ourselves first as Nigerians no matter the circumstance, we must place our country first.”

In a related development, Pastor John Omada of the Knowledge of Truth Ministry, Lokoja has commended Buhari for exhibiting a high-level leadership quality in his recent public apology for the shoddy Kogi, Bayelsa and Rivers State rerun elections.
In his Easter message with the theme: ‘Access to Salvation through resurrection power”, Omada said: “Many leaders would sit on the issues and fumble along with the mistakes but he has spoken with this level of transparency because he is confident of redressing them.’’

He expressed the belief that the president wants to boldly address certain issues that have not been properly tackled , adding that “it was an indication that we should still have hope in his administration. It is an indication that anywhere there is a mistake he will identify the mistake publicly, open it up and redress it.”

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