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• PDP, APC guber aspirants preach peace, love, unity
From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure and Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti
Christmas was yesterday celebrated in Akure, the Ondo State capital and other towns in the state in low key.
The current fuel scarcity in the country and the economic hardship were attributed to the situation.
This year’s celebration was devoid of glamour that usually characterised the festival, as many people stayed in door. The situation also affected many of the churches as there was low turn out of worshippers in many of the churches in Akure.
This was even as there was no social activities in many of the social centres, especially restaurants and eateries in the town. Despite the seizable number of Christians in Akure, many of the churches recorded low turn out and many streets were deserted.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu had, in his Christmas message, urged the people of the state to pray for peace, unity and love in the country and the state in particular. In his Christmas sermon, Pastor Joseph Oladipupo of Faith and Victory Church, Akure urged Nigerians to return to God.
He specifically called on the leaders and those in government to rely on God and not their wisdom for the country to experience the desired development.
Meanwhile, the people of Ondo State have continued to groan over the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol.
Motorists in the state also boycotted motor parks as many of them now sleep in the few filling stations that have the product.
It was gathered that a litre of petrol is now sold for N300, while many filling stations are under lock due to non-availability of the product. The situation has caused an increase in transport fare in the state as a taxi drop now costs N100 as against N50.
Also, Akure to Osogbo which costs N1,000 before is now N2,500, making it difficult for many to travel for the yuletide, even as those in the town could not visit their love ones.
Meanwhile, gubernatorial aspirants of the People Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti have preached peace unity and love to all at Christmas, saying without these virtues, Nigeria could not move forward.
PDP governorship aspirant, Ambassador Dare Bejide, urged Nigerians to embrace peace and love by praying for the coming year to be peaceful and fruitful for all.
“I wish all Ekiti people merry Christmas and urge all to embrace peace, love and unity. These are virtues that characterised the godliness of our Lord Jesus Christ whose birthday we are celebrating. I therefore urge us all to pray for next year as there are challenges ahead which we need God’s intervention to surmount.”
In the same vein, APC’s governorship aspirant, Kola Alabi, urged Nigerians to be prayerful and ensure that peace, love and unity are values they cherish: “as we are ushered into a new year loaded with fresh hope, renewed determination and brighter future.”
Alabi, who said Ekiti people deserves better and more progressive and development-oriented leadership than what is being witnessed now, urged them to vote credible candidate in APC to bring a more fruitful change to all facets of peoples’life.
