Christians Urged To Enter Politics

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), Right Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey, has urged Christians to enter politics in order to inject the good quality of the Church into the national body politic. He said it was pertinent for Christians to get involved so as to keep evildoers at bay from capturing power to rule over the righteous. Rt Rev. Martey said this when he paid a courtesy call on the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo, at the residency in Ho last Wednesday. He also said the winner-takes-all syndrome was having adverse effect on the nation and its politics. The moderator, who was in Ho to officiate a retreat for the laity drawn from 17 presbyteries of the church, said: �I have brought the church to the residency today�. He said the nation now needed a prophetic voice from God to say the truth to the people, adding, �We need men and women of God who will preach the Biblical truth.� He said the church was the oldest in the country and had played a tremendous role in the delivery of formal education since its establishment and was now reputed as the only church that had established two private universities in the country. Rt Rev. Martey said the church had established the Presbyterian University with campuses at Akropong, Agogo, Abetifi and Tema with another to be established in Kumasi very soon; and a graduate school at Akropong, which is the only private tertiary institution given a presidential charter to award doctorate degrees. He said it was the leading private tertiary institution in the country, rated as the fourth in the evaluation of universities. The moderator gave an assurance that the church would continue to partner the state in the delivery of quality education to citizens, adding that the church had equally excelled in the delivery of health service and agriculture to complement efforts of the state. Rt Rev. Martey commended the regional minister and the regional security council for the manner in which they had handled the Alavanyo and Nkonya situation that had prevented it from escalating. He asked that everybody should rally behind and pray for the President and regional ministers to enable them to handle the affairs of the state to expectation. He noted that since the Volta Region was the stronghold of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), he expected that the region should have a fair share of national development. The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Afotey-Agbo, said good human relations were cardinal to serving the people and those were his weapon as a public office holder. He said the chiefs and people of the Volta Region had shown great appreciation since his assumption of office and prayed that the numerous investment opportunities available, especially in the agriculture sector, would be exploited to the advantage of all. At the retreat, the Volta Presbytery representative of the church, Mr Richard Obeng Asafoatse, said the retreat would enable the laity to reinforce their faith and dedication to church duty and that time would be devoted to legal issues concerning the church and state, stress management, Bible study and the welfare of the laity.