FATHER ALIA, PASTOR UNO: FROM THE CHURCH TO GOVERNANCE

Apparently, gone were the days when religious leaders perceive Nigerian politics as a “dirty game”. Today, clergymen seem to be tired of preaching “change” to politicians from the pulpits and want to enforce the change they desire themselves through active political involvement.

This is so because, among many unprecedented developments that the 2023 general elections heralded, the rise of clergymen who temporarily dumped their cassocks on the pulpits to run for different elective offices stands out. Legally, all eligible Nigerians can vote and be voted for, according to Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution.

At least two of the clergymen-turn politicians who took “steps of faith” have been declared governors-elect in the March 18 governorship polls by Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

While Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia won in Benue State, Pastor Umo Eno won in Akwa Ibom State.