Success Damian:
Most Reverend Peter Ebere
Okpalaeke, Catholic Bishop of Ekwulobia Diocese, has disclosed that he is not interested
in individual political parties in the forthcoming Governorship Election in
Anambra State, but a candidate that is ready to work with the people.
Bishop Okpalaeke was speaking
to Journalists at the Funeral Service of the late Felicia Umenzekwe, the mother
of Modestus Umenzekwe in Achina, Anambra State, on Thursday May 20, 2021.
Speaking on the type of
governor of his dream for Anambra State, he said “I am a church man in a
special way; I look for what is good for my people. I am not interested in the
individual political parties, but candidates that will come, have the feelings
of the people, smell the sufferings of the people and be ready to work for
them, and with them because nobody can come and claim to be the governor to
work for the people, you work with the people, if you are with the people,
things become easier, so that is the type of governor that I want.”
On his advice to Nigerian youths
especially those from Igbo land, he said “I am not just interested in what is
going on among our youths, but I am more interested with what is going on in
children, elders before the youths, it is not just the affairs of the youths,
it concerns all of us. We are all worried, confusion everywhere, hardship,
sufferings, so we are all concerned.
“We only pray that the good
lord will give us the spirit to persevere, spirit to, not to be distracted from
the unity, from the peace that God has given us, that has made us Nigerians and
that has made us Igbo people, because we cannot hide our identity, we are
Igbos, we are born here before we began to hear anything about Nigeria.
“So nobody can pretend that
there is no Igboness in each and every one of us. I was born in a family, I am
from Amaesi, nobody can take it away from me. And from Amaesi I entered the
global community, Anambra State, my Local Governmnet is Aguata, progressively
before we became Nigerians, so you cannot just stifle that Igboness in us and
say we are one Nigeria, yes, there is Nigeria but there are different segments
of the country, and unless we realize that and give fairness, equity to each
and every segment of the country, we won’t be talking of peace, if you want
peace grant justice, Okpalaeke said.
Bishop Okpalaeke speaking commiserating
with the family of Modestus Umenzekwe said, “We are here for the funeral mass
of the late Felicia, the mother of Modestus Umenzekwe, we came because she was
one of us, she believed, she shared our faith in the communion of saints, the
connection, the relationship between the living and the dead, believing in
Christ, so when somebody dies, the living will come and support him or her on
their spiritual journey. So that is why we came and we believe that God has
heard our prayers. We believe she will eventually rest in the bosom of the
lord.”
He prayed that the lord of all
consolations will console the family, “Our dear brother and son, Modestus, wife
and children and, in fact, the members of Umenzekwe family, Azike family, the
maternal home Amaesi, we pray the lord to console each and every one of us,”
Okpalaeke prayed.