Left: Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; Senate President, David Mark; Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and Life Peer, House of Lords United Kingdom, Mr. Paul Boateng, at the 5th National prayer breakfast in Abuja ... on Thursday.
A member of the British Parliament, Lord Paul Boateng, on Thursday, urged his Nigerian counterparts to be guided by the fear of God while discharging their constitutional responsibilities.
Boateng, a Peer in the British House of Lords, said this in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at this year’s edition of the National Prayer Breakfast, organised by the National Assembly.
The British parliamentarian, who spoke on the topic, “A Nation at crossroads: The need for godly leadership”, specifically counselled his counterparts in the Nigerian legislature to avoid greed, corruption and selfishness as much as possible.
He advised them to see their election into the parliament as a call to serve their constituents, and not an opportunity to amass wealth for themselves.
He also urged them to exhibit confidence by being committed to the needs, yearnings and aspirations of their constituency and their country.
He said, “The task of lawmaking is a calling that must be prosecuted only through the leading of God and His Holy Spirit.
“Anyone who would represent his or her people in whatever capacity effectively must possess the character of God so that they would be able to competently address the plights of all vulnerable groups with confidence.”
He maintained that the crises, destructive epidemics and the worrisome rate of corruption ravaging African countries, could only be tackled if all leaders and their followers played their roles well in the polity.
Boateng said, “We can be said to be real agents of transformation if as leaders we equip ourselves with the right attitudes to deliver justice with the fear of God.
“A parliamentarian who is above board would have all the necessary qualifications to provide necessary leadership skills and competence required to address the problems confronting their constituents.”
Chairman of the programme, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, said that in the lawmakers’ determination to be closer to God, members of the payer group had concluded plans to build a worship centre within the National Assembly complex.
He also said all arrangements had been put in place to constitute the National Prayer Group Choir.
The event was attended by Senate President, David Mark; his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu; Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; and other lawmakers from both chambers of the National Assembly.
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