By Ella Anokam

The President of Laity Council of St. Christopher’s Catholic Church, Games Village, Abuja, Dr Ralph Igweh, has urged Christians to vote the right leaders that are capable of addressing Nigeria’s security challenge.

In his New Year message on Sunday, Igweh said their choices should devoid of political sentiments.

“In the true demonstration of Christian values, may we all be guided by the Holy Spirit in this election year.

“It is our civic responsibility to vote the right leaders to pilot this country’s affairs.

“Let our choices not be guided by ethno-religious, social and political sentiments, rather, by values of good conscience.

“We are burdened by security challenges occasioned by socio-economic problems in a country blessed with enormous human and natural wealth,” he said.

He said that our choices should be guided equally by thoughts of the future of our children and generation unborn.

He also called on the parishioners to use their God given talents for the good of self and the parish noting that it is a reflection of God’s grace at work in them.

“The sacrifice of treasure, talent and time graciously given for the success of our common good, is an epitome of encouragement that comes not only from within us as individuals, but also, as a group of people chosen to lead.

“You have consistently demonstrated the virtue of good will and grace,” Igweh said.

According to him, in the pilgrimage of contemplative priesthood, we are guided to deeply reflect on our identity of true apostleship. Apostleship that comes from exemplary acts of being witnesses to Christ.

He expressed hope that members of St Christopher Laity Council would draw water from the well of salvation.

While wishing Christians a happy New Year, he prayed that God would grant all graces needed to overcome all challenges in 2023 and beyond. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

By Christian Ogbonna

The Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Abakaliki, Mr Monday Nkwegu, has called for peace, love and greater unity among Nigerians.

Nkwegu made the call in a sermon at a solemn service in Abakaliki to mark the Ash Wednesday and beginning of the this year’s Lenten Season.

“As Christians, we should be good Ambassadors of Christ. The Ash Wednesday is the beginning of 40 days of praying and fasting before the Easter.

“We should participate in fasting, prayer and reflection.

“The period symbolises the fasting and prayer that Jesus had in the desert before his execution,” the cleric said.

Also, Rev. Fr. Michael Okeke, the Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Chaplaincy, Mile-4 Abakaliki, described the season as a period for repentance, fasting, abstinence and prayer.

Okeke called on Nigerians to use the opportunity to pray for the nation’s leaders and oneness of Nigeria.

In a similar vein, the Presbyter of the Methodist Church, Abakiliki, Rev. John Chemeke, also described the lenten season as a period of sober reflection.

Chemeke, therefore, urged Christian faithful all over the world to use the period “to reflect on thier relationship with God,” in order to reconcile back to Him, where necessary. (NAN)

By George Edomwonyi

Most Rev. Gabriel Dunia, Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Auchi, has admonished Christian faithful on the need to use the Lenten period for fasting and giving alms to less privileged in the society.

Dunia said this at a mass to celebrate Ash Wednesday in Auchi, in Etsako West Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo.

The cleric also urged Christian faithful to actively participate in the 40-day adoration prayers during the lent period.

“The lord God has taught us that prayer, fasting and alms giving are remedies for our sins, by this we empty ourselves and see nothing in the World.

“The prayers of thousands of Christians observing lent would go a long way to ensure a peaceful and prosperous country for all citizens, ” he said.

The Bishop said that the Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of the Lenten period, which usher in Easter celebration.

He enjoined Christian faithful to use the Lenten period to reconcile with both man and God, as well  as give up sinful habits.

“The three cardinal points during the Lenten season are prayers, fasting and arms-giving. When Christian faithful try to practice the three virtues, they bring them closer to God,” he said. (NAN)

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Primate of Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, has urged Nigerians, especially Christians to ensure that they were inoculated against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic when general vaccination commences in the country.

Ndukuba said this at the February 2021 Standing Committee meeting of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, which began on Feb. 8 and ended on Feb. 14, with a church service at the All Saints’ Cathedral, Onitsha, Anambra.

A full text of speech delivered at the meeting obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday quoted Ndukuba as saying that many Nigerians had become complaisant about COVID-19 because of the unfounded campaign against the vaccines.

“COVID-19 is already in our villages and communities; we have lost some members to COVID-19 infections. Many people are very complaisant and careless because they believe it is a rich people’s disease or it is not real.

“COVID-19 is real and it kills. Some people are peddling unfounded campaign against the COVID-19 Vaccines; they suggest that anyone receiving the vaccine will receive the  anti-Christ number 666.

“Let it be clear that COVID-19 is a virus that is ravaging the world and killing people. We give glory to God that we have higher survival rate in Nigeria,” he said.

“This disease is like Polio, Yellow Fever and other virus diseases that we receive vaccines to prevent. Those who are infected are being treated and many recover.

`The medical personnel administer drugs to cure them which does not initiate them with the 666. This vaccine is like any other that we receive to prevent diseases caused by virus.

“The End Time signs are here but the severe persecutions and tribulations have yet to come fully. We should be careful not to propagate stories that are not true and which  can only be destructive to the lives of our people.”

He urged Nigerians to live in faith and righteousness, and also engage in fasting and prayer to fight the pandemic.

The Anglican primate also urged Nigerians to always observe the protocols as issued by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

“Everyone should keep the non-Pharmaceutical procedures such as keeping social distance, use of face mask, hand washing with soap under running water, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers and others.

“It is a virus and an enemy of our lives and at the name of Jesus Christ, COVID-19 must be destroyed; God has preserved our lives till today and He will protect and keep us till the end.

“We plead that the federal and state governments should procure vaccines and give to all our citizens, especially the most vulnerable group. The incidence of the COVID-19 has exposed the poor state of Nigerian healthcare delivery system,” he said.

He appealed to the Anglican dioceses and parishes to intensify the establishment of health clinics and hospitals that would carter for members, especially the poor and vulnerable.

Ndukuba appreciated all doctors, nurses and frontline health workers who had bravely stood for the sick and citizens infected with coronavirus.

“We commiserate with all those who lost their dear one in this pandemic. May God stand by us and carry us through this challenging period victoriously,” he added. (NAN)

Funmilayo Okunade

The Ekiti State Government has advocated more private sponsorship of pilgrims to Mecca and Jerusalem, following government’s withdrawal from bankrolling the activity, according to remarks by the Deputy Governor, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi.

Speaking on Tuesday, at a meeting with members of the State Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, led by its Chairman, Alhaji Babatunde Onipede, in Ado-Ekiti, Egbeyemi  noted that both the federal and state governments had stopped sponsoring pilgrims on holy pilgrimages, to save funds for development purposes.

He told the board members, who visited him to familiarise themselves with his office, which supervises the Board in the state, that individuals interested in performing pilgrimage should do so through private savings, in view of the government’s withdrawal of sponsorship.

“Both the Federal Government and the State Government have said they will not spend their money on pilgrimages again, and that is why there was no budgetary allocation to it.

“Anybody wishing to perform his religious obligation of going to the Holy Lands must do so with his own personal savings, and that was what I told the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) when their executives made a similar request, because we must be fair to all,” Egbeyemi said.

The deputy governor, however, said that the board’s demand for office furniture and utility vehicles were legitimate and would be looked into accordingly, stressing that the state government was ready to assist the board in the performance of its statutory duties.

Egbeyemi also expressed satisfaction with the peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians in the state, which made them to live together as brothers and sisters.

Speaking earlier, Onipede expressed gratitude to Gov. Kayode Fayemi and the deputy governor, for finding him and other members of the board worthy of being appointed to serve.

Onipede revealed that the board was not run properly during the last administration, hence the need to draw the attention of the present administration to the situation for assistance.

“It was not functioning as a board during the Fayose administration; it was just lying fallow there and was not run like a board.

“In Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, we don’t have utility vehicles. Our utility vehicle in Saudi Arabia has been grounded since 2018,” he said.

Onipede said the board also needed furniture and more funds for the smooth running of the office, for quality service delivery. (NAN)

A catholic parish priest of Our Lady of Peace parish in Soubaganyedougou commune in western Burkina Faso, on the border with Côte d’Ivoire, has gone missing since Tuesday.

A statement issued on Wednesday by Bishop Lucas Kalfa Sanou of Banfora, capital of Comoé province, named the missing priest as Rev. Father Rodrigue Sanon.

It said that Fr. Sanon left Soubaganyedougou for Banfora to attend a meeting, but he never arrived at his destination.

“We implore the competent authorities who are doing everything possible to search for him. We ask anyone who has any information to notify the police of Soubaganyedougou, Banfora or the bishop or a priest of the diocese,” said Bishop Sanou. (PANA/NAN)

By Ariwodoka Idowu

Gov Kayode Fayemi on Wednesday congratulated the Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Revd. Matthew Hassan Kukah, on his appointment into the Papal Dicastery on Promotion of Integral Human Development.

The governor hailed the appointment in a letter personally signed by him, dated Jan. 19, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday

He stated that the appointment was an unequivocal expression of Pope Francis’ confidence in Bishop Kukah’s ability to be an “impeccable advisor on a wide range of human development issues”.

Fayemi described the dicastery as a perfect place for Kukah because it was one of the apostolic ministration of the papal in “reaching the weak, seeking social justice and ending all forms of practices inimical to the dignity of man”.

“It goes without saying that your role as a pastor, social commentator, public intellectual, peace-maker, interfaith conciliator and fighter for the rights of the underprivileged, readily recommend you for this latest addition to your enviable pedigree as a social justice crusader”, the governor said.

Fayemi said that he had no doubt that the bishop would bring his competence and character to bear on his new role.

“On behalf of my wife, the government and good people of Ekiti State, kindly accept my best wishes as you resume your new role,” the governor said. (NAN)

By Cecilia Ologunagba

Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Kaigama, Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, has condemned incessant kidnapping of catholic priests and other ministers of God, describing it as molestation of the church.

Kaigama, in his homily on Sunday at St. Anthony’s Parish, Yangoji, Abuja, said an act of kidnapping was criminal, ungodly and degrading to humanity.

Kaigama, who spoke at a mass to mark Solemnity of Baptism of the Lord, said it should be clear to the kidnapers that the mission of Catholic Church was to bring good news to the needy and poor.

“Whatever may be the motive of the kidnappers, monetary or sheer intimidation, it should be clear to those engaged in such nefarious activities that the Catholic Church brings good news to the poor through huge sacrifices.

“She complements government’s efforts through her selfless social, educational and medical services to the needy, so molesting the Church is molesting the needy.

“Whatever the Catholic Church has and does, is for the good of all, irrespective of religious, ethnic or political differences,” he said.

“We pray for the release of those who are still in captivity and for the conversion of the perpetrators of this inhuman act.

“May Christ manifest Himself to the perpetrators of such evil actions as kidnapping, rape, killings, etc and grant them a change of heart,’’ he said.

Kaigama said the purpose of his visit was to pray with the parishioners and to encourage them to persevere more in faith.

He said they should not to give in to despair with the happenings around them, especially in the light of the kidnap of their parish priest.

He recalled that the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Matthew Dajo was detained by his captors for 10 days, from Nov. 22 before his release on Dec. 2, 2020.

“We thank God that despite his travails in the hands of his abductors, he remains generally well, apart from the psychological trauma he still suffers.

“I commend you for your strength of faith, and for persevering in prayers with the conviction that he would be released.

“You did not allow the sad incident to demoralise you as you continued your spiritual and pastoral activities to the surprise of the perpetrators of such an evil,’’ the Archbishop said.

Speaking on solemnity of Baptism of Jesus, Kaigama said it was a call to reject sins and embrace God, saying “Baptism is one of the sacraments in the church.

“Baptism is a primordial sacrament, because, “unless one is born of water and the Holy Spirit, he will not enter the kingdom of God” according to Gospel of John chapter three verse five.

“The Holy Spirit at baptism confers on the baptised the grace of purification and the right of adoption; it is God’s seal, His mark of ownership on us.

“Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments.”

While many Christians recall and mark their birthday, he said very few recall or celebrate the anniversary of their baptism, urging Christians to do so.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Baptism of the Lord is the feast day commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist and the Sunday ends the Christmas season. (NAN)