The Methodist Church of Nigeria has rejected Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential election.
However, the church hailed the selfless service and sacrifice of officers and men of the Armed Forces and other security agencies in tackling the menace of insecurity in the country.
The church made these known in a communique issued on Monday at the end of its Biennial Conference held in Abuja.
The communique was read by the Prelate of the church, His Eminence, Samuel Kanu-Uche.
It called on communities and traditional leaders to be more security conscious and to enlighten the citizenry on the consequences of their ignoble acts.
The conference expressed concern over the state of education in the country and called for quick resolution of the ongoing strike by university workers.
“The conference is saddened about the deplorable state of the nation’s tertiary institutions and, therefore, called on all parties to quickly resolve all outstanding disagreements, which have kept our children and wards at home for the past six months”.
It also expressed deep concern over rising cost of living and absence of basic amenities to make life more meaningful for the citizens.
According to the communique, the lives of average Nigerians have become miserable due to inadequate basic amenities such as potable water, stable power supply, food, education, good roads, safety and security.
“The hopes and aspirations of a flourishing nation that our founding fathers had at the time of independence in 1960 has been dashed and their labour wasted.
“Through brazen nepotism, pursuit of parochial and regional interests, religious bigotry, political egotism, economic ineptitude, lack of patriotism, moral turpitude and monumental barefaced corruption,” it added.
The conference attributed the problems to non-chalant attitude of leaders at various strata of governance.
This, it said, had led to the state of decadence in the society at large, and urged the leaders to use their positions to change the fortunes of the country for the better.
“In spite of the gloomy situation of our dear country, Christians should always intercede prayerfully for the progress and prosperity of Nigeria,’’ it said.
On the 2023 elections, the conference called on all political actors and parties to put the interest of the country uppermost in their dealings.
It also urged them to eschew all wrangling that tends to divide the country along primordial considerations.
“In particular, Methodist Church Nigeria, without being partisan, rejects Muslim-Muslim ticket, which does not reflect the nation’s religious diversity and national integration.”
On the the rising state of youth unemployment, the conference said though government alone cannot provide total employment, it must come up with strategies that will address it.
It added that government at various levels should put in place policies that will encourage the establishment and sustenance of businesses by private individuals.
The conference also said government should improve the state of power generation and distribution in the country, as this will galvanize various sectors of the economy.
It expressed concern that though Nigeria prides herself as a religious nation, that has not translated to improved moral values and respect for human lives.
The conference, therefore, urged religious leaders to improve the quality of their teachings and practices in a way that will positively affect the society.
It hailed the recent exploits of Nigerian athletes, describing it as inspirational.
“Taking a cue from the inspirational performances of Tobi Amusan, Chioma Onyekwere and other Nigerian athletes who broke existing world records recently at the Commonwealth and World games.
“Nigerians are urged to be patriotic and continue to contribute their quota in their various vocations and professions to build the Nigeria of our dream.”
The conference congratulated His Eminence, Kanu-Uche and Sir Ifeanyi Okechukwu on the success of the biennial conference.
It particularly thanked Kanu-Uche for his visionary and transformational leadership in the last nine years and wished him happy and peaceful retirement.
