Tina Ezin, Calabar
The Bishop of Anglican Communion, Diocese of Calabar, Rt. Rev. Nneoyi Egbe has warned that Muslim/Muslim or Christian/ Christian ticket is wrong and should not be encouraged.
He stated this yesterday during a Press briefing with the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, to mark the second session of the 11th Synod of the Diocese of Calabar scheduled for 13 to 17 of July 2022, adding that Nigeria’s secularity must be respected.
The Bishop stressed, “we absolutely do not, will not and cannot accept a Muslim/Muslim or Christian/Christian ticket. Nigeria’s secularity must be respected by our leaders.”
Bishop Egbe who described Nigeria’s democracy as “a compressive scam and ruse” wondered why the National Assembly has refused to pass the Electoral Offences Bill, noting that if passed, it would give stronger credibility to the forthcoming elections.
While he called for a proper amendment of the 1999 constitution, the Bishop warned that the national assembly and other stakeholders concerned should stop the charade of constitutional amendment but show honesty to the Nigeria citizens.
“ it is common knowledge that the constitution we are operating as a nation does not reflect the truth in Nigeria. A man of God had once declared it as a lie. It declares at the opening that we are a secular state but within reflects every character of a particular religion. We need a constitution that reflects the plurality of the people, not one that declares freedom of everything but enshrines practices that negate such freedom.”
On security, the Anglican Bishop frowned at the level of insincerity of federal government in tackling insecurity ravaging the country restating the need for state policing and true federalism.
He said, “in saner climes, this government would have resigned in enmasse! But Nigeria is a place where the law applies to some and not others. We believe it is for this reason that the Nigeria government has refused the several requests for establishment of state police. We need state Police, denying Nigerians this is evidence of government’s insecurity in securing the Nigerian environment against elements that pursing their evil agenda.
The Clergyman condemned the call for citizens to resort to self-defense by owning a gun, saying, “let it be known to all that every Nigerian can equally acquire arms, but we need to as if a lawless state like ours will still have citizens if this is allowed? A note of caution, we all need to know and understand that Nigeria belongs to all of us and we must keep her united as one nation where everyone is someone and is respected as a Nigeria” .
He however commended the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) for the extension of Voter’s registration exercise and appealed for increase in the number of deployed registration materials, particularly the capture machines.
