Odey Ochicha
Inyali Peter|12 September 2016
Cross River State governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2015 general election, Mr. Odey Ochicha has urged Muslims to pray for the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria as they celebrate this year's Eid-El-Kabir.
In a statement issued in Calabar, Ochicha said that Nigeria as a nation need prayers, peace, unity and progress now like never before.
According to the statement, Ochicha said that Muslims should go beyond mere celebration especially as the nation is going through a serious economic recession due to the global fall in crude oil prices.
He urged them to particularly pray for President Muhammadu Buhari and his team pointing out that despite the challenges and distractions by those who have breached the trust of the people, the President's efforts will continue to yield good results.
The APC chieftain who described corruption as the single bane to development in Nigeria averred that Nigeria is blessed with abundant resources hence, our leaders need prayers and support to enable them achieve their plans for the people.
According to the statement, "With our current economic challenges, the Eid-El-Kabir should be much more than the usual fun. It is a time that we as a people need to take sober reflection on our gains and failures, analyse our collective efforts to make Nigeria a better country and then pray especially for our peaceful coexistence.
"We need to sincerely pray for our President that as he is fighting strongly to redeem the country from the hands of those who have breached public trust by illegally and selfishly enriching themselves at the detriment of the masses, their revolt would heat the rock," the statement reads in part.
While calling on Cross Riverians and Nigerians to keep faith with President Buhari, he urged the state governor, Senator Ben Ayade to use the holiday to review his policies to focus on projects that would have direct impact on the people rather than concentrating all efforts on what he described as "unrealistic" projects.
He called on "our Muslim brothers and sisters in Cross River State to pray for Governor Ben Ayade", emphasising that "while I commend the governor's courage for some of his projects, he should understand the present economic reality of the state and the country by focusing on developmental projects that would be of direct benefit to the good people of Cross River State".
Inyali Peter
Writes from Calabar
