Moshood Adebayo

General Supervisor (GS) of ThankGod Awaited Liberation Ministry, Ikeja, Lagos, Francis Otukwu, has  said the the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) are heating up the polity with the current defections and leadership tussle at the National Assembly.

He lamented that the development is playing down on increasing rate of poverty, serious security threats posed by the Boko Haram terrorists and rampaging Fulani herdsmen.

The GS stated this during the 12th anniversary thanksgiving/founder’s anniversary commemoration of the church with the theme: “Jesus Christ the Life-giving Water.”

While warning Nigerians not to be carried away by the  self-serving political theatrics of the two leading political parties, Otukwu said: ‘’Three years on, the government is still contending with Boko Haram terrorists aided by saboteurs, thousands of Middle-Belt and Southern Kaduna families are languishing in Internally Displaced Persons’ camps (IDPs).

READ ALSO: I’m not anti-Igbo – Ambode

‘’While the Fulani herdsmen who sacked them occupy their ancestral lands, leaving them homeless and hopeless, as neither the police nor the military have been able to protect the citizens nor arrest their tormentors. On the other hand, the economy has not been fixed, leaving millions of Nigerians in excruciating poverty, while politicians are already warming up for the 2019 general election.”

“The current gale of defections by top politicians of APC and PDP confirm they are not concerned about the unity or survival of Nigeria or how to improve the lot of the common man. Rather, they are unequivocal about the root of their dispute: Which party wins and who presides over the political economy, automatic ticket for legislators at the National Assembly, and distribution of political offices and  patronage after the 2019 general election.

“They are not concerned about ensuring a credible, peaceful and un-manipulated poll next year, hence no efforts at cooperating with the Independent National Electoral  Commission (INEC), at the grassroots level nationwide, to mobilise the electorate for a successful nation-wide registration of voters and efficient collection of permanent voters cards, with a view to guaranteeing accuracy of registration records, unhindered collection of PVCs and a free and fair election,” the cleric said.