Next President should be a nationalist -Methodist Prelate

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Buhari

Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Most Rev Samuel Kanu-Uche, has said the next president of Nigeria should be a nationalist who believes in the country.

The Prelate, who was kidnapped last Sunday and released within 24 hours after payment of N100 million ransom, also blamed the high-level insecurity in the country on those in government.

Speaking in an interview on Arise TV, the Prelate, who had earlier narrated his ordeal in the hands of his abductors, said, “What we are looking for is a nationalist. Everything will be fixed once we get our nationalist who believes in Nigeria.

“But if you get somebody interested in Igbo, Yoruba, Fulani, Hausa, Itsekiri, Ijaw, rubbish, we will go back to square one.

“For instance, I am not boasting, I believe in Methodist Church Nigeria, and I see that church as a family. So we don’t discriminate in all the scholarships we give to ministers to study.

“When there is an opportunity for scholarships, I will call the former HOC; who do we leave this for? He may say this or that, but I will say that area has not got. We made sure that our four pillars were represented.

“You know we have four pillars in the Methodist Church; the South-East extraction, South-South extraction, South-West extraction, and Northern extraction. That was how we were balancing our scholarships.

“So nobody is gambling when it comes to distribution of offices. That is what we do. There is a promoted equity. So that is why I can boast that I am loved by everybody. I don’t play on tribal sentiments.”

On who to blame for the insecurity in the country, he said, “I don’t blame any government, but I blame the leadership in government. It is individuals that run the government.

“The Bible says that when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the unrighteous are in authority, the people groan. Are you not groaning? Are you eating well? Do you have all the money you need? Are you paid all the salary?”