ONE WEEK FASTING AND PRAYERS TO END INSECURITY ENDS IN ABAKALIKI AMIDST TESTIMONIES.

~ Every Herdsman coming to South East must conform to the culture of the South East, says Governor Umahi

~As 3000 Ebonyi Youths are to be Empowered by June

The seven days of fasting and prayer to end insecurity has ended in Ebonyi State with the assurance of cessation of hostilities in parts of the State and beyond.

The grand finale of the intercession powered by the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi State Chapter and the Divine Mandate Pastors was held at the Christian Ecumenical Centre,  and the Akanu Ibiam International Conference Centre, Abakaliki.

Addressing the congregation, the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engineer David Nweze Umahi commended the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Divine Mandate Pastors for being the backbone of his administration.

He attributed the successes of his administration to the wise counsel and intercession of the men of God and expressed hope that the 7-day power pact intercessory prayer would end all formS of unrest in the State.

"There is a crisis among ourselves, it is just by God's divine mercy and grace and your prayers that we are able to survive all these years, we have to thank you, you will not find any checkpoint here in Ebonyi State but we have not been having killings,  we have been consulting all clans of the State, and Ebonyians must note that these people are still around, we believe in prayers and that is why we have called for it."

"Why are we killing Security Agencies, why are we burning Police Stations, the genuine agitations minus cessation have been hijacked and if we do not know, we need to know."

He called on the leaders of the Zone to speak up against the brewing insurrection in the Zone in order not to truncate the relative peace in the region.

"It is time the Igbos should rise up, we are the only region that is at war with ourselves and we pretend about it. Are we being fairly treated, no, but we are not the only region that is not fairly treated, our own may be the worst but can the leaders be allowed to attend to this? All of us, we are the architect of our problems."

"No herdsmen in the entire South East will attempt to kill anybody again, that rubbish must stop."

"Every Herdsman coming to South East must conform to the culture of the South East, our people everywhere must conform to the culture of the people over there and I have said to our people, let us stop killing ourselves, every one of us is the problem, the situation calls for repentance from each of us, it calls for fear of God, this situation cannot continue, it is not the fault of the present administration nor the past."

"From day one, there was no foundation laid for the unborn children, somebody went to the University, somebody who has a job will not take arms. "

"Nobody should tell us how to govern our people, it is time to rise up, nobody will love us more than us"

The Governor said though he is a staunch believer in one Nigeria, he is upbeat about the genuineness of some of the agitations of the youths, especially in the South East region.

"I do not believe in second-class citizenship where a section of the country is being seen to be superior to others."

"We are all created by God and no one should talk of disintegrating the country. "I want Igbos to submit these agitations and I would lead the governors and leaders of the zone to the center to address these grievances."

He announced plans to roll out full-scale empowerment of Ebonyi Youths to the tune of 3000 in June to make them self-reliant.

"We are developing several talents, it is the product of the #Endsars Conference and we are going to empower 3000 of our youths."

"We are starting quiz competition, we are starting school debate and we are starting the two teams for Ebonyi State Football Club, the Queens and the Kings."

"The Ebonyi State House of Assembly has passed a bill for the establishment of Davis Umahi University of Medical Sciences Uburu and we are going to employ a lot of our people there, same at the Airport which is 50% completed and the shopping mall which is done."

"We are starting two new Universities and that is the University of Technology in Izzi land and that University will take off this year. We will use the space for Faculty of Engineering in Ugwuachara and we will start the University of Aeronautic Engineering, the first in Nigeria and that will be by the Airport."

"The Medical School is going to be the best because it is going to have Centres of excellence that will ensure that no one will go to India again, no one will go to London again, everything is there and by September both the Hospital and the School will take off."

Earlier in a remark, Reverend Father Professor Christopher Okoro of the Catholic Secretariat expressed hope that the one-week prayer session would rejuvenate the Christian spirit in Ebonyians and resonate in their activities to enthrone lasting peace in their affairs.

The Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, Ebonyi State Chapter, Reverend Father Abraham Nwali While speaking on the theme of the prayers which is" Thanking God For Answering Our Prayers" said Ebonyi State has every reason to thank God for his mercies and protection.

"This morning we have gathered to thank God for answering our prayers, you can't thank God until you thank your fellow human being, learn to appreciate the little people do for you and only then would you be in the best position to appreciate God, no one can be all good, God is all knowing, all situations are clear to him, including the situation of Nigeria, we are thanking , God for the testimonies of Nigeria, but for the prayers of men of God, Nigeria will not survive as an independent Nation, a Country where everybody is a Political party, we are thanking God that immediately after the COVID-19, came the #Endsars, Nigeria will never remain the same again because we have told the youth to take the lead, we are thanking God that no State will fight what we fought and still remain one, there is hardly any Community in this State that are not in the war except the Centre but we are still together, No State in the Federation has anything to show except Ebonyi State courtesy of the wisdom of His Excellency the Governor, we are grateful because we have a Leader driven by passion, Nigeria is witnessing untold inflation and deflation, let all of us go home and cultivate our lands, Let us have second address and desist from living an extravagant lifestyle, let us continue to pray"

The Leader of the Divine Mandate Pastors, Pastor Eunice Oyeyemi assured the Governor that the Association would continue to back his administration up with prayers to ensure that he concludes his regime successfully.

Francis Nwaze
Special Assistant to the Governor
Media and Publicity
(May 8, 2021).