Some Christian leaders on the platform of National Solemn Assembly (NaSA) have declared 40 days of “intense” fasting for President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and the nation.
The clerics disclosed this at the National Ecumenical Centre, Abuja, during the inauguration of committees and flag off of the national orientation and mobilisation for ‘A day of Praise Worship and Thanksgiving to God for Nigeria’ slated for December across the country.
Chairman of the committee, Archbishop Leonard Kawas, urged all Nigerians, especially Christians, to actively participate in the 40-day fast and prayers for Nigeria and its leaders.
According to him, the fast would commence on October 20, 2023 and end on November 30, 2023, a day before the Solemn Assembly.
Kawas also said that their initial fear over the Muslim-Muslim ticket of President Tinubu and Shettima has been allayed.
They said their fear was predicated on the possibility of religious subjugation and oppression of Christians in the country.
Prof. Anthony Bature, who is also the national president of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria, said that President Tinubu should be commended for disappointing many who thought that a Muslim/Muslim ticket would set the country on a path of chaos, by ensuring a balance in the appointment of both Christians and Muslims into political offices.
“One of the things that created tension during the last electioneering period was the fact that many Christians in Nigeria were so scared of the idea of a Muslim/Muslim ticket. It brought a lot of fear but as God will have it, that fear has been removed from us. The president and his vice have demonstrated nothing but balance in the kind of political appointments that they have made.
“We have seen that nobody can cry of marginalisation because Muslims have gotten their fair share and Christians have also gotten theirs too. So this is one of the reasons why we must thank God because some people thought a Muslim/Muslim ticket will Islamise Nigeria,” Bature said.
