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His Eminence Ekpenyong Akpanika
By Akpan David, Calabar
The Prelate and Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, His Eminence Ekpenyong Akpanika has urged President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria to leave behind a lasting legacy by conducting free, fair and credible election next year.
He made the call in a statement to mark End-of-Year and New Year seasons.
He congratulated President Muhammad Buhari for steering the ship of leadership as best as he could.
He urged the president to supervise peaceful transition of power by May next year.
“We acknowledge efforts of the president in the areas of infrastructural development and agriculture.
“But we want to humbly remind the president that the lasting legacy he will leave behind is a free and fair election, and a peaceful transition to a new government.”
The prelate stated that through God’s grace, the nation and her people have survived the traumas of the past years.
“We have seen poverty and hunger as never before. We have slept with only one eye closed because of the challenges of insecurity.
” Many families have been forced to part with life savings in order to get back their loved ones from the clutches of kidnappers. We have experienced the worst flood in many years in which lives and properties were lost. Many have lost their jobs and many businesses have closed due to the sluggish economy.
“But the resilient Nigerian spirit has once again prevailed through God’s grace. “
He said that the time has come for Nigerianns to experience good leadership which translates to economic and socio-political growth, stressing that Nigerians truly want to enjoy the benefits of being Nigerians.
Akpanika predicted that 2023 elections will decide the direction and the course for Nigeria, saying failing to get it right this time or making any mistake will surely spell doom for the country.
He cautioned against allowing tribalism, ethnicity, religious bigotry, sensationalism, unreasonable and extreme party loyalty, greed and selfishness to determine voting patterns.
“The result of this is clear for us all to see. In the past years, the fortunes of the country took serious downturn with our nation descending to become the poverty capital of the world and its citizens finding it difficult to live through each day because of extreme and biting poverty.
“Moreover, the scourge of insecurity and corruption seem to have taken permanent residence in Nigeria.”
