The National Director, Directorate of Politics and Governance, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Reverend Femi Emmanuel, said good Nigerians have abandoned the political affairs of the country to “moneybags” and “political gladiators.”
The PFN chair also urged Christians to take part in Nigeria’s political equation saying that politics is not dirty, and it is not evil.
Speaking at a two-day train-the-trainer summit titled, ‘Raising a New Generation of Political Leaders,’ Emmanuel told the Christian community that politics was not evil, nor was governance dirty.
The training was held at the international headquarters of The Gospel Faith Mission International, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
In a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Wednesday, he advised more Christians to participate in politics.
The conference, held in partnership with the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, is a global initiative dedicated to inspiring and equipping world-class Christian political leaders for transformative change and good governance. The conference aims to train and raise Christian political trainers in the state.
He stated, “Good people should be involved in politics, not just Christians, but also other good Nigerians from different faiths. Tragically, good people and good Nigerians are not present where decisions that affect Nigerians are made.
“We have abandoned politics to political gladiators and moneybags, and it shouldn’t be this way. This is a call for grassroots involvement in Nigerian politics so that we can present credible candidates for the public to vote for. That is the whole ideology.
“My charge to the churches is that the church should wake up. Politics is not dirty, and it is not evil. There must be light to dispel darkness. The whole body of Christ should wake up and be involved in matters that affect the destiny of this nation.”
Emmanuel said the DPG was a project by the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, which believed that Christians should be included in Nigeria’s political equation.
“The children of God, Christians, should be involved in selecting and electing who will govern us in this country. It is long overdue. Christians should be encouraged that politics is not evil and governance is not dirty. We are Nigerians, and we should get involved in how Nigeria is run and ruled,” he said.
Guest speaker, Kehinde Shogunle, said, “Where can we find people with the right orientation and mindset to do what the country needs? Only in the churches.
“The churches have proven over the past 20–30 years that they are capable of this. Look at how Pentecostal churches have grown significantly in a very short time.”