Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has called on religious leaders to promote peace, national unity and responsible civic participation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Akume made the appeal on Wednesday at the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja while representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 12th Synod of the Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria.
According to a statement by his spokesman, Yomi Odunuga, the SGF urged the bishops to help safeguard democracy by encouraging peaceful and conscientious participation in the elections.
“Elections will come and go, but Nigeria must remain. As Charismatic Bishops and fathers of faith, you have a decisive role to play, not in determining the winner, but in helping to ensure that Nigeria does not lose,” he said.
Akume urged the bishops to speak against anti-democratic practices such as vote-buying, hate speech and the weaponisation of ethnicity or religion.
He also cautioned religious leaders against using their pulpits to incite their followers.
“I urge you to please refrain from turning the pulpit into an instrument of incitement instead of the sanctuary of conscience. An election is a contest for office; it must never become a war for survival,” he said.
The SGF further urged religious leaders to see peacebuilding as an integral component of national security, stressing their influence in preventing and managing conflicts.
“Religious leaders occupy a very important intersection in the prevention and management of these issues because they are recognised influential social mobilisers and actors in peace building. The Church must therefore see peace building as part of national security,” he said.
Akume also called for stronger collaboration between the government and the Church in areas such as youth empowerment, education, peacebuilding, civic responsibility and humanitarian service.
“Government needs the moral reach of the Church, and the Church needs an enabling civic environment to thrive. Above all, Nigeria needs both to work perfectly, for the common good,” he said.
He thereafter declared the 12th Synod of the Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria open.
