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Keep the peace as elections approach, Bishop of Ibadan Anglican Diocese charges Nigerians
The Bishop of Ibadan Anglican Diocese, Most Rev. Joseph Akinfenwa on Monday urged the Church and Nigerians to keep their peace and not to lose hope at the approach of the 2023 elections.
Akinfenwa gave the advice in his pastoral message to the Church and to country in Ibadan where he noted that the past few weeks had been quite traumatic for most Nigerians.
He blamed the trauma on fuel and cash scarcity.
“In several places nationwide, the frustration has boiled over, and outbreaks of violence have been the consequence.
“As we approach general elections, however, we hereby appeal to all Nigerians to please remain calm in the face of all provocations.
“As a people, we have been through a lot in times past, and we have always proven ourselves to be a very resilient people. Time has come for us to demonstrate that resilience once again.
“Let us encourage one another to eschew violence, to keep the peace, and to resist every machination or manipulation to incite upheaval so that the general elections would not hold.
“In the face of widespread deprivation of cash, let us resort to our native communality and generosity; and at least for these few days let us re-enact Acts 2:44-47 and Acts 4:32,’’ he stated.
Acts 2:44-47 states:
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.
47 Praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved.
Acts 4:32 states: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
“Let us share with one another out of the little that we have, and ensure that extreme hunger and or frustration does not tip our neighbours over,’’ Akinfenwa added.
He advised that rather than allowing on-going adversity to incite us against one another, Nigerians should bond together in love across ethnic and religious boundaries, focusing on supporting one another to overcome the adversity.
The Ibadan Anglican Bishop recalled periods in Nigeria’s history when agents of evil exploited Nigerians vulnerability to set them against one another, to set back the nation, and to truncate the will of the people.
“Do not let us allow them this time around. As a people, let us unite to say no to provocation and incitement, and to insist on peaceful change and democratic transition according to civilised norms.
“On account of this, let us by all means remain peaceful and law-abiding, while trusting that government shall keep faith with the election timetable.
“When we go to the polls on Feb. 25 and March 11, let us vote according to the dictates of our conscience, and in tandem with our collective desire for a better Nigeria.
“This time, it is extremely imperative that our votes should agree with our hopes. May the Lord grant Nigerians the wisdom and courage to do the right thing this time.
“Once again, we identify with all good people of God in the Church, and with all Nigerians as we go through these trying times. We know that indeed, the pains are much and the burden is heavy.
“However, let us be assured that if we endure and do what is right, this too shall pass; and this painful process shall give birth to a better nation for us all,’’ Akinfenwa stressed.
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‘Establishment of criminality’ did not allow INEC server work – Peter Obi
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi, said it was the ‘establishment of criminality’ that made the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, servers not work during the last presidential election.
Obi, who insisted that the people must one day make it to work, explained that Amazon testified there were no glitches recorded globally on the day of the presidential election.
The former Anambra State governor made the statement on Friday in Canada while addressing the issues about the last general election, including IREV servers.
DAILY POST reports that the LP presidential candidate was in Canada for a “thank you” tour to appreciate Nigerians living in the country for their support offered him during the 2023 campaign/ general elections.
He said: “Where did we go wrong in the last election? We didn’t go wrong anywhere. We did the right things. But as I can always tell people: when you bring a change, you fight all those who live off the old order. They don’t go away; they gang up. And don’t think it’s a straight race to remove an establishment. It’s a long-distance journey anywhere in the world. Go and check anywhere, whether you are looking at what happened in India, with Mandela in South Africa, or America. No change has happened overnight, it takes time. I urge all of you, if you really want change, we have just begun. We just have to continue from where we are.
“Yes, there might be one or two things we will correct, those things we will correct. I assure you we are correcting them without naming them.
It’s not going to be easy.
“The INEC server was the same as the establishment. The server would not work because it was the establishment that made it so it wouldn’t work. It’s ours to continue to say that it would work. But there was no glitch. Amazon came and said there was no glitch. Amazon glitch is noticed globally – it’s recorded globally. And at that period, we brought down an Amazon person who said this is the number of glitches we have had since inception. And there was none that it reported that day. We know it didn’t occur. It was the glitch of the establishment criminality that was in the system. And we must one day make it work.”
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Special agro-industrial project will create jobs for 200,000 persons in Anambra – AFDB
Dr Chuma Ezedinma, Agricultural Economist at African Development Bank (AFDB), says the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone programme (SAPZ), will create jobs for no fewer than 200,000 residents in Anambra.
Ezedinma spoke with newsmen on the sidelines of a meeting tagged “Preparation Mission for the Development of the second phase of SPAZ programme” on Saturday in Anambra.
The meeting on the SPAZ-2 programme had officials from the Federal Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Food Safety, AFDB, and the Anambra State Government.
According to him, AFDB is very much interested in what is happening in the state because Anambra’s presentation on the SPAZ project is the best seen so far, and shows the state’s readiness to run.
“From what we have seen, about 450 hectres of land will be dedicated to the industrial site.
“We are looking at approximately 5,000 farm families per zone. Multiply it by three zones, you have 15,000 farm families in the state.
“If you also add other secondary jobs that will be created in the park itself, you will see that we are creating real massive employment for more than 200,000 people over the next five years.
“The state government had already committed resources to put infrastructure in place and there is also a private sector interest to deliver this programme within a very short time,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr Louis Enaberue from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, commended Anambra State Government for its preparedness for the phase two of the SAPZ programme.
“What we saw in Anambra’s presentation shows they are ready for the phase two of SPAZ and I hope and pray they meet the grade.
“The state government is expected to pay 50 per cent counterpart fund, provide the land and other infrastructure for the project, and they are already working towards achieving them,” he said.
Similarly, Dr Forster Ihejiofor, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, said that the state’s Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, and the Ministry of Industry were working tirelessly to ensure that the SPAZ project was ready to go in Anambra.
“Clearly, we are ready because this project will transform agriculture in the state as it will increase farmers’ incomes, foster job creation and enhance food security in the state and country at large,” Ihejiofor said.
The delegation visited the three proposed sites for the SPAZ-2 project in Ayamelum, Ogboji in Orumba South and Ufuma in Orumba North Local Government Areas of the state.
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