The Nation Newspaper

Tag: division

  • Polls: Division among Christians worries publishers

    The Christian Press Association of Nigeria (CPAN), an umbrella body of publishers of Christian news, has lamented the widening division among Christians over political differences.

    The development, it said, has set the church back in its evangelical mission and portrayed it in a negative light before the public.

    This was the major resolution after a stakeholders meeting by the organisation last week in Lagos.

    While admitting that Christians have shown an incredibly great interest in politics, the body said there were indices that the engagement has not been well-managed.

    In a nine-point communiqués signed by its coordinator, Gracious Akintayo and secretary, Jackson Ekwugum, CPAN lamented:  “Many Christians have been divided along party lines especially along the line of the ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party and the main opposition party, All Peoples Congress.”

    It added:  “Pastors who are supposed to give direction to church people and counsel them on staying on the will of God and protecting the cause of the kingdom of God have themselves been entrenched in partisan politics.’’

    It observed the development had degenerated to the point that “some church leaders have thrown caution to the wind by engaging themselves in verbal wars and in some instances fisticuffs over who to support and who not to support.”

    CPAN said the “integrity of the church is being compromised while church leaders are being dragged in the mud as a result of fathom allegations which have not been substantiated with facts and figures.

    “There is an atmosphere of bewitchment of the church. There seems to be too much emotion in party support than reason. People are holding to their allegiance to parties as if there salvation lies in those parties.

    “The cause of the kingdom has suffered considerably owing to blind party followership and lack of recourse to the will and purpose of God for the nation.”

    It called on Christians to exercise restrain over political involvement and continue to uphold the nation in prayers.

    “God will only act in response to the prayers of the saints. We must pray and bring all matters concerning the elections and who becomes our next president into the hands of God.

    “We must realize that the purpose and plan of God cannot be thwarted by any human force.

    “We believe that if we pray, God will act. We believe that Nigeria is strategic in the plan of God for the end time.

    “We believe that we cannot afford to fritter away the opportunity before us to enthrone righteousness, justice and peace in the land,” the Christian publishers stressed.

  • APGA division delays APC logo

    APGA division delays APC logo

    With the division in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) , those waiting for the logo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will have to be patient, it was learnt yesterday.

    Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) spokesman Lai Mohammed said in Abuja after a meeting of some leaders of the new party that following the row in APGA, its symbol will not be in the logo of the new party to avoid litigation.

    According to him, the various factions in APGA have accepted the decision of APC and sought to be allowed to report to their party.

    He said: “We appreciate the fact that APGA is today divided. It is factionalised. Therefore, it will not be proper for us to take any of the symbols of APGA as part of the logo of APC, which they actually accepted.

    “Their only point is that we should allow them to report back to their party that in the new logo which will be unveiled, there is no symbol of APGA because once we use the symbol of APGA, a faction could take us to court.

    “And that is why we are now differing the announcement of the logo until the time when they go back to explain. Certainly, they did not work out. They went to have their own meetings, their own consultations. “

    He said members at the meeting arrived at what the logo would be , stressing, “but we are delaying the announcement because of what I have just told you.”

    He also noted that the new party will inaugurate the various committees it has set up next week.

    “We have taken a lot of very useful decisions, consultations still continue. Various committees have been set up to be inaugurated next week. And if there is any other development, we will let you know,” he said.

    Speaking on the speculation that the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP) was not committed to the merger, Mohammed said the party’s Board of Trustees Chairman, Alli Modu Sherrif, attended the meeting.

    He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that is looking forward to the break up of APC, because of ego and status, will be disappointed because the constituent parties are committed to the cause of the merger.

    He denied that some members of APC are already jostling for positions.

    According to him, the issue of candidacy has not been tabled in all the consultations of the new party.

    He noted that all the constituent parties must hold their respective conventions to seek their party’s consent for the merger.

    “If the PDP is waiting for the issue of ambition or ego to divide the APC, I think they are mistaking. What I have seen in our deliberation today is the extent to which people are ready to make sacrifices, how people are ready to bend backward to ensure that this merger works.