As politicians strategise and group up ahead of 2023, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State said only God would determine his successor and not man, insisting that he would never take the place of God in deciding who succeeds him.
Okowa, during a thanksgiving service at the Government House Chapel, Asaba, for the blessings of God upon him, his family and the state in 2021 and greater divine attention on them and the state in 2022, urged Deltans to pray for him to finish strong.
He said: “Finishing strong is about being able to reach out to the people to lay the foundation that people can build upon and I urge Deltans to pray for the will of God to be done in the state ahead of the 2023 governorship election.”
Cautioning political stakeholders on the need to concentrate on governance and not be distracted ahead of the 2023 general elections, he said: “Let us approach the next few months with oneness of love. Towards the end of every administration, there are usually distractions here and there.
“We are not stopping people from playing politics but we need to realise that there is a purpose and we must remain loyal and committed to governance until May 29, 2023.“This is a year of politics and as politicians we cannot avoid it, pray with us, pray for us and pray for the state.
“Whatever positions we are contesting for, let us seek the face of God because if you genuinely pray, God will reveal His will for you.
“As a man, I will also try to avoid people pushing me to a direction that God is not pleased with because if God has made a choice and we go in the wrong direction, it will not augur well for the state.
“But one thing is sure, whoever will succeed me must be one who keeps the fire in this altar burning, and God must direct us on the choice of the person. I can never take the place of God in deciding who will succeed me; I will pray for God to direct us and not man, so that we don’t go in the wrong direction.”
Enjoining leaders in position of authority to have faith in God as He alone could direct their affairs, Okowa who was flanked by his wife, Edith, said: “We recognise as a family and as governor of Delta, God for his grace in the past years and for all the achievements we have made that we must return to say thank you Lord.“In so doing, we are asking for greater blessings and there is no doubt that since 2015 when we assumed office, the hand of God has been strong in this state.
“We are now in our seventh year and it is a good thing to give thanks unto God, because if we rest our faith in God, we will be able to do all things; we will be able to show love and empathy to the people.”
“In governance, until you touch the lives of people, you have done nothing and a life in governance without God is a governance for self because it is not for the people.
“Many communities want to honour us and thank us for what we have done for them. But, each time I tell them that you have voted for us and whatever we have been able to achieve we give thanks to God.”