Participate actively in politics, Ajimobi charges Christians

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has charged Christians in the country to ensure they participate actively in politics so as to ensure the enthronement of the right people that would transform Nigeria and move it forward.

He gave the charge while speaking at the centenary celebrations of the Baptist Convention held in Ibadan on Wednesday.

According to him, it is only if Christians show interest in politics and participate actively that they would have been seen to have contributed their own quota towards the development of the country through the election of the right people to direct the affairs of the country.

The governor also urged them not to allow themselves to be enticed with money by politicians who did not mean well for the country but who were only after what they would benefit from the system.

"Make sure you select the right people that can make meaningful progress and ensure the development of the country. Don’t let politicians entice you with money. In politicking and campaigning, don’t abuse your opponents.

"What you should just do, for instance, anywhere you see them abusing us, is to ask them some questions: what did they do when they were in power? And for those who had never been there before, ask them about their political antecedents and where they are coming from.

"In Oyo State today, what we are doing is to play the politics of comparison and politics of development as against the politics of destruction and character assassination which they engaged themselves in when they were in positions of authority,’’ he said.

Governor Ajimobi also charged Nigerians not to allow religious differences to divide them, adding that they should discourage all forms of violence and anti-social activities capable of disrupting the peace of the country, all in the name of religion.

"We must not allow our religious differences to divide us; we should realize the fact that no religion preaches violence and so, anybody engaging in violent activities in the name of religion is an ungodly person,’’ he said.

The governor said that his administration had performed wonderfully well in infrastructural development, especially road construction and rehabilitation in virtually all the nooks and crannies of the state, assuring that in the next few months, all the roads currently being dualized would have been completed.

He said that it would have gladdened his heart to do more than what his administration was currently doing for which it is being widely commended in spite of paucity of funds owing to dwindling federal allocation accruing to the state.

Governor Ajimobi called for the continued support and cooperation of the people of the state for his administration so that it could achieve more and take the state to greater heights.

In his remarks, the President, Baptist Convention, Rev. Supo Ayokunle commended the massive infrastructural development and the urban renewal programme of the Ajimobi administration, saying it was unprecedented in the history of the state.

``Ibadan is no longer the same. I can’t believe that I can miss my way in Ibadan where I lived all my life. Everything has changed. If it is transformation of cities, you have performed excellently. Posterity will continue to remember you,’’ he remarked.