Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, has advised Christians to get themselves integrated in public service in order to bring their knowledge to bear and effect the needed change in the society.
Governor Udom Emmanuel gave the advise while declaring open the 2017 Conference of Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria (CLASFON), held in Uyo, the state capital.
He noted that many Christians of various professions in Nigeria could add value to the country by applying Godly principles in the service of the people and advised them not to shy away from public service maintaining that they cannot stand outside to change the system.
He commended the vision and role of the founding fathers of the fellowship, which he said began with a few members in 1981, adding that the fellowship had built up lawyers with Christian virtues who would positively affect the nation.
Governor Emmanuel reasoned that if Christians continued to abhor politics things would not change for the better and emphasised that their involvement would change the narrative of leadership in the country.
While calling on leaders to be of good example in order to attract others to come in and contribute their quota in public service, he appealed to members of the Christian Lawyers fellowship of Nigeria, to nurture a populace that would be positively decisive towards contributing to the democratic process and politics which would pave way for the enthronement of good leadership.
Chairman of the occasion and Supreme Court Judge, Justice John Inyang Okoro, in his remark described the theme of the conference “The Life” as apt and called on the lawyers to embrace Christ and abide in Him, pointing out that it was as a result of his abiding faith in Christ that he was able to overcome the trying moments and challenges he had faced.
Also, the President of the Christian Lawyer Fellowship of Nigeria, Mr. Alozie Echieowu, stated that the fellowship, which came on board in 1981 has a core focus of equipping its members spiritually and professionally in their capacities as Judges, Magistrates, Advocates, Solicitors and Legislators.
He made a case for the amendments of the Constitution to separate the office of the attorney General of the federation from that of the Minister for Justice and called for a financial autonomy for the Judiciary.
He regretted that people of questionable character have found their way into the bench saying that their conduct have brought disrepute to the Judiciary and expressed optimism that the conference would right the wrongs in the system for the benefit of the country.
The State Chairman Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Ndueso Ekwere, and his counterpart in the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Dr. Silvanus Ukafia, presented goodwill messages at the conference which attracted over 5,000 Christian Lawyers and members of the Clergy across the country.
