By Wilson Adekumola
The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has told the church leaders to beware of politicians who run to church during elections, noting that Christianity is not only during elections.
Wike who noted that some politicians only claimed to be Christians during elections, gave the admonition at the inauguration of Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girls School Road and Adjoining Roads in Elelenwo Town of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area on Tuesday.
The governor reassured his commitment to partner with the church at all time, defending, supporting the growth and expansion of its missionary activities.
Wike expressed his confidence that the church’s continuos and fervent prayers to God had been significant to the success of his administration.
He said, “The church should always identify with those who from the beginning had always worked with them. Not with those, when election comes, they come and talk to you that they are Christians.
“Christianity is not only during election. Christianity should be done from the outset; you have to show that you’re a Christian.”
While hailing the church for persistently praying for his administration, Wike commended them for supporting the emergence of the Rivers governor-elect, the deputy governor-elect, National Assembly and State Assembly members-elect during the 2023 general election.
He said, “The church should understand those who believe in them, who trust them, who will work with them, not only when it comes to politics that people will now run to the church, no. That is why I’ve told the church to be careful of politicians who will want to use the church.”
He explained that the church has constantly called his attention to the deplorable condition of the road leading to Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girls School and need to rehabilitate it
He noted that the bad road disrupted development and frustrated socioeconomic activities in the area.
He said, “But I’m happy that businesses have come back here. Tenants have come back. No house is empty, they’ve all occupied them. Again, this is promise made, promise fulfilled.”
Wike stressed that ACMGS is owned by the Anglican Communion, but his administration would totally remodel its structures and learning materials to make it one if the best.
“We are donating to the school, the sum of N500m so that we can bring up the school because ACMGS is a prominent school in this State and in this country,” he said.
The governor also said he would reconstruct internal roads within Elelenwo Town to serve as a parting gift to the community and to appreciate their dedicated support to his administration since inception.
On the House of Representative member Kingsley Chinda, Obio Akpor Federal Constituency, the governor regarded him as a dependable political representative, who had demonstrated uncommon loyalty.
According to Wike, “He will never fail you. He is not one of these people whose one leg is here, the other is there. Okey Chinda is not like that and I am proud to recommend him to anywhere in this world because he is somebody you depend on and then go home and sleep with your two eyes closed. It is rare to get people like that.”
Special Projects Commissioner Deinma Iyalla gave the length of the road as 2.25km and its width as 6.8 meters with 2.2 kilometres long drains.
