INEC Boss Appeals for Prayers, Invites Clergymen to volunteer as ad-hoc staff.

 

 CONN/0590906

 

Port Harcourt, Sept. 13, 2006- The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Maurice Iwu today delivered his most passionate appeal for the success of the 2007 elections appealing to Church leaders to fervently pray for the forthcoming polls.

He also asked the Church to encourage Priests to volunteer as ad-hoc staff, saying ‘there is nothing wrong in Anglican clergymen working as electoral staff’.

 

Prof. Iwu was speaking to delegates of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) attending the ongoing Standing Committee of the Church in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital

 

Making reference to the Gospel of Luke 4:18, he tasked the Church leaders to make 2007 an acceptable year of the Lord.

 

The INEC boss, who quoted copiously from the Bible during his presentation, said “Jesus came to preach the gospel to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captive and recovery of sight to the blind.”

 

“It is only you (the Bishops) not me, that can make 2007 the acceptable year of the Lord. As Christians you can lead us to join our Moslem brothers- who are also Children of the Book-, to make 2007 an acceptable year of the Lord.”

 

He asked Church leaders to stop ascribing blame of manipulation of election on politicians and called on Christians to train men of integrity to take over the leadership of the country.

 

“No politicians carries ballot boxes, no politicians carries acid, no politician carries machete. It is the ordinary Nigerian, people who come to Church everyday to worship God; they are the ones they use,” he said.” 

 

He described as totally unacceptable a situation in the country where people of low intellect and sheer brutality have been allowed to control the reins of political power.

 

Iwu said religious leaders have been appointed by God to lead and liberate the people from the reins of ignorance and bondage.

 

He appealed to the Church leaders to encourage their followers not to allow themselves to be used as agents to derail the electoral process.

 

On what INEC was doing towards the 2007 polls, Iwu said some 500,000 people and more are needed to conduct the polls.

 

He said the electoral body resolved not to take any list from politicians during recruitment of ad-hoc staff and listed religious bodies, academia, business community, as reliable alternatives.