Rt. Rev. Ezekiel Akande, Bishop of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Diocese of Lagos West, has urged the newly elected officials not to betray the trust that Nigerians has placed in them.
He made this statement at the 2023 annual synod of the church, with the theme: “Contending for the faith.”
The bishop also called on the incoming government to tackle the insecurity issues while describing it as one of the major problems in the country.
He said: “We have reposed confidence in the newly-elected ones, they should not betray the confidence of the electorate. And when they come on board, they should take the issue of security seriously. Insecurity is one of the major problems that we have now. You cannot sleep and close your eyes. You travel on the road, you are looking left and right. The issue should be addressed and as they do that, they should also improve the economy where jobs will be created for young graduates. Even artisans should be assisted and we believe Nigeria will become a better place to live.”
Akande also added that the emergence of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, despite the Muslim-Muslim ticket agitation, was not without the approval of God.
He said: “Nobody can ascend the throne except God knows about it. That is what I would like our Christian brothers to know. It is God that said the incoming government should be on board and we cannot query Him. When the agitation was going on, if God did not want them to be there, they wouldn’t emerge. And now that they have emerged, Nigeria is our own, we do not have any other place to go. Therefore, I am appealing to Christian brothers and sisters to be praying for the incoming government, knowing full well that they cannot be there if God did not permit.”
Akande said the theme of the synod was a way of communicating to Christians not to fight for Him but to take their faith seriously.
He said: “When you look at society these days, many can be drifted from faith because of all kinds of vices we have in our society, which include, insecurity, cashless policy, and persecutions of Christians. These can make people deviate from their faith.”
As a result, the church is trying now to encourage the Christian faithful not to be deterred in the service of God because there is a reward for persistence and every good work in God’s name.”
The Lay President of the diocese, Ayodeji Aderibigbe, said efforts were ongoing by him to build the capacity of youths in the church.
