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AS political candidates warm up for the 2023 elections, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, on Thursday, said the body will not endorse a presidential candidate but charged its members to examine all of them and vote for the best.
PFN said rather than being partisan, it will guide its members to exercise their voting rights while the choice of who to be voted for remains a personal affair.
Addressing journalists at PFN National Secretariat, Isolo Lagos, Dr Cosmas Ilechukwu, PFN National Secretary said this was the resolution Christians at an extraordinary joint meeting of its National Advisory Council (NAC) and the National Executive Council (NEC) of August 18, 2022.
According to him, “The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has concluded an extraordinary joint meeting of its National Advisory Council (NAC) and the National Executive Council (NEC) on August 18, 2022, at the National Headquarters of the Fellowship in Lagos. In attendance were Fathers and Leaders of faith from all over Nigeria. We are thankful for the commitment, sacrifice and dedication of all our leaders to the Fellowship and the nation”
The PFN lamented that despite its role in achieving a peaceful co-existence, some politicians are busy thwarting such efforts and this is detrimental to the peace of many Nigerians.
Reeling out the resolution, Dr Ilechukwu said: “The PFN resolves to continue to uphold Nigeria and the leadership of the country in prayer, given the grave economic situation of the country, which has further compounded the increasingly worrisome state of security in the country, with terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other heinous crimes on the rise.
“The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria notes that even in the face of the unprecedented level of disunity in the country, some of the political parties and politicians have acted in disregard of the fragility of the times we live in, made worse by the poor management of our fault lines, thus further polarizing the country.
“Of note is that despite our advice to the political parties that a same faith ticket, be it Christian-Christian or Muslim-Muslim, will not augur well for the unity and future of Nigeria, some political parties chose to ignore that counsel.
“The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria reaffirmed its position that a same faith ticket can, in no way, be justified, as it is not in the interest of Nigeria, as it further jeopardises the prospects of peaceful co-existence and building of a united nation.
“The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) restates that in consonance with its constitution and governance framework, it is and has always been non-partisan. It has neither been in the business of endorsing and will not be doing so in the 2023 elections.
“PFN will continue to mobilise the Church to ensure full Process by all Christians, while encouraging all with what is best for Nigeria and the Church at work prepared by the Christian Association of Nigeria
“The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria will continue to engage and collaborate with like minded organisations and individuals to ensure that the 2023 Elections delivers to Nigerians and Nigeria a ticket that will further the unity of the country in line with the expectations and prayers of Nigerians.
“The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria will continue to be open-minded and broad-minded, leaving the door of engagement with all political parties open, so that all the issues that are holding back the development and unity of Nigeria can be comprehensively addressed.”
