Felix Ikem, Nsukka and Raphael Ede, Enugu

Agwu Local Government Area secretariat’s pavilion in Enugu State was filled to the  brim last weekend ,when over 5,000 Christians from Enugu west senatorial district and beyond congregated to pray for the state Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and peace in Nigeria.

Delivering the sermon, Archbishop of the Throne of God Mission, Dr. Austin Nwodika, urged Christians not to shy away from politics, but, should exhibit the teachings of Jesus Christ when they occupy political positions and use the opportunity to impact on peace, growth and wellbeing of the people.

“It is not a matter of religion, but doing the will of God. We are the light of the world, so, we should lighten it. Christians who find themselves in governance should  know that they have a divine mandate. Man should evolve for the will of God to manifest.”

Other preachers at the event, included Ven Innocent Aka, Bisho Kingsley Agu, Pastor Simon Faith, Apostle Dr Joseph Ajujungwa, Bishop Dr Gideon and Pastor Obinna Abba. They condemned the recent siege on the National Assembly.

The  chief whip of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Chief Matthias Ekweremadu, urged Nigerians to pray for peace in the country and avoid politics of witch-hunting.

Pastor John Tochukwu Ogbodo, who coordinated the event, called for prayers against incessant killings of Christians and other innocent Nigerians in the country. According to him, for farming activities to thrive in Nigeria’s post-oil era, there must be peace for farmers to operate without hindrances.

Related News

READ ALSO: My administration not hindered by debt – Obaseki

The high point of the event was presentation of  a Holy Bible to Ekweremadu through his representative, Chief Mathias Ekweremadu and other members of the National Assembly from the zone for God’s guidance.

Meanwhile, Enugu  State government said as part of its deliberate policy to integrate youths in the governance of the state, it has appointed more than 1,000 youths into political positions at various levels of government in the state.

The Commissioner for Youth and Sports,  Joseph Udedi, who revealed this yesterday during this year’s celebration of International Youth Day, at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, also announced that the state government recently set up a committee headed by the Deputy Governor, Cecilia Ezeilo to privatise moribund industries in the state to create more employment opportunities for the youths.

READ ALSO: Whose PVCs are these?

Giving the breakdown of the appointment, Udedi said 600 youths were appointed as  executive assistants to the governor, 10 out of 24 members of the state Assembly are youths, 200 Senior Special Assistants to the governor and that 70 per cent of local government chairmen and councillors are youths.

He  further stated that the state government employed 1,000 youths as traffic officers and another 1,000 youths as sanitation officers for the “Clean Enugu Project,”while 3,000 youths were trained in various skill acquisition programmes in conjunction with Industrial Training Fund (ITF).