Emmanuel urges A’Ibom residents to embrace peace
Akpan Umoh, Uyo
The Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel has asked residents of the to stay away from violence and embrace peace to experience the true joy of the season and continuous development.
Emmanuel said this in a state-wide Christmas broadcast to the Akwa Ibom people on Saturday in Uyo, stressing that Christmas is a season of peace, love and giving.
He said Christmas celebrations is a period of love and exchange of gifts, that should bring even enemies together as one, as preached by Jesus Christ in His Holy Book.
“We are once again enveloped in a mood of festivities, heralding the birth of the Prince of Peace and the Saviour of mankind, our Lord Jesus Christ. This, therefore, is a season of peace, goodwill, love and giving.
“This is a season where we should banish all ancient animosities and celebrate our oneness and unity, our development and the strides we are collectively making as a State and as a people.
“It is a season of joy and thankfulness to God for holding us together as a people and as a State, in spite of the economic difficulties brought about by the Covid -19 pandemic, which unfortunately has now mutated to the Delta and Omicron variants respectively,” Emmanuel said.
The governor reminded the political class to eschew bitterness and politics of hatred, adding that power belongs to God Almighty.
He urged them to remain committed to unity and brotherhood, adding that politics will come and go, but Akwa Ibom will remain.
“To the political class, I urge you to always remember that politics will come, and politics will go, but the soul and spirit of Akwa Abasi Ibom people will remain undilutedly committed to our unity and brotherhood.
“Let us, therefore, eschew bitterness and hatred from our body-politic. All Power belongs to God Almighty, and He gives such to whom He has qualified.
“God does not choose a man that is qualified, but he qualifies a man that He chooses,” he said.
The governor urged the youths to continue to keep the peace and shun anti-social tendencies, adding that government would not tolerate any disruption of the peace enjoyed in the state.
Emmanuel appealed to residents to celebrate with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols, remembering that the omicron variant was already in the state and country.
He reminded citizens that the only way out of the coronavirus pandemic was to continue to observe simple protocols of wearing facemasks, regular washing of hands, using alcohol-based sanitisers and observing social distancing.
“You may have been following in the news the mutation of a new variant called Omicron. At a time, the world thought we had turned a corner with this virus, this Omicron variant has returned the world to the starting point.
“Travel restrictions are being imposed all over the world and some countries have painfully considered another round of lockdowns.
“Here in Nigeria, and in our State, in particular, we have discovered some cases of this Omicron variant and it is incumbent upon us, to do all we can to curtail its spread.
“We do not intend to impose another round of lockdown. This will, however, depend on how we obey the protocols. This is a serious matter and should be treated as such,” he said.
