By Balogun Mabamije
The National Body of the OBI-Wise Council of Clergies has been inaugurated in Ughelli, the headquarters of Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
The body, made up of clergymen and christians in Nigeria, is poised to support and mobilise the church for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi.
Speaking during the ceremony which was held at the Shalom Christian Mission, Ughelli, the National Coordinator of the body, Bishop Pius Onephronjire, said the body had observed the antecedents and the utterances of the various politicians, aspiring for the office of the president of Nigeria, and had found the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi as the most credible among them.
Onephronjire disclosed that the body had wide coverage of over 25 states in the country, made up of Clergymen and Christians who were not happy with the sorry state of the nation because of bad leadership.
He said they were confident that Mr Peter Obi had all it l takes to transform the country from consumption to production, just as he described the choice of his running mate, Dr Ahmed Datti, as excellent and matchless.
He urged members of the group to mobilise the church for Mr Peter Obi and his running mate during the 2023 general elections.
Earlier in a brief message, the Guest Preacher, Dr Charles Apoki, said it was important for the clergymen in the country to speak in a time like this, saying that if they failed to speak for the interest of the oppressed in the nation, God would hold them responsible for the suffering of masses.
Apoki opined that, if clerics were representatives of God before the people and the people before God, then it would amount to criminality and wickedness on their part, if they shied away from speaking for the interest of the people they claim to represent.
He said one of the most expensive jokes was trying to be over nice or having a feeling of guilt doing the right thing just because people say so.
Apoki urged clerics both in the Christian faith and in the Muslim religion to always speak whenever there was oppression or bad leadership in the country.
He said one of the reasons clerics found it difficult to speak up was the fear that they could be tagged enemy of government, and commended Bishop Matthew Kuka for being outspoken in the country.
