The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has urged Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) leaders to use their influence to promote peace, national unity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Idris made the call on Wednesday while delivering the keynote address at the grand finale of the 2026 Synod of the Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and the International Communion of Charismatic Archbishops, Bishops and Apostles (ICCABA) in Abuja.
He also urged the clerics to promote responsible citizenship and peaceful democratic participation.
The minister said Nigeria’s diversity required responsible leadership across all sectors of society, stressing that preserving national unity could not be left to government alone.
According to him, religious leaders have a critical role to play in promoting peaceful coexistence and strengthening the bonds that hold the country together.
“Keeping this country united requires more than government action. It requires responsible leadership across society, including religious leadership,” he said.
The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to protecting religious freedom and ensuring that Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths could worship and live peacefully without discrimination.
He cautioned against portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a religious war, noting that terrorists and criminal groups had attacked Nigerians across different faiths and backgrounds.
Idris said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had strengthened intelligence gathering, inter-agency cooperation, military operations and the wider national security architecture.
He said approximately 1,000 terrorist elements, including dozens of their leaders, were eliminated in the first quarter of 2026 through the efforts of the nation’s security agencies.
The minister also cited the August rescue of 308 abducted Nigerians in Niger and Kwara States as evidence of the continued efforts of security agencies to protect citizens.
Idris urged religious leaders to strengthen social cohesion, guide young people away from radicalisation and criminality, and support community early-warning mechanisms.
He also encouraged them to promote dialogue and peaceful engagement, particularly as the country approaches the 2027 general elections.
“No election should be allowed to turn Christian against Muslim, Muslim against Christian, North against South, or one ethnic group against another. Nigeria belongs to all of us,” Idris said.
The minister called on religious leaders to keep their pulpits as platforms for truth, peace and responsible citizenship rather than incitement and division.
On the economy, Idris said the Federal Government was implementing reforms while expanding opportunities for young Nigerians through programmes including NELFUND, 3MTT, NYIF, NATEP, SVCG, SUPA and iDICE.
He said Nigeria’s greatest resource was not only its natural resources but also the talent, creativity and abilities of its people.
Idris called on churches and other faith-based organisations to deepen their contributions to education, healthcare, skills development, youth empowerment, humanitarian services and community development.
In a major political development at the event, the President General of CBCN, Archbishop Prof. Leonard Bature Kawas, declared the conference’s support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Kawas said the Church had examined the administration’s record and was prepared to continue supporting the President through prayers, advocacy and public engagement.
“We support him now. We support him today, we support him tomorrow, and we support him for as long as he’s willing to be our president,” Kawas said, adding, “This house has endorsed him for 2027 presidency.”
Declaring the synod open, President BolaTinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, commended the Church for its prayers, humanitarian interventions and contributions to peace, national cohesion and moral formation.
Tinubu acknowledged the sacrifices Nigerians had made during the ongoing economic reforms, assuring citizens that the government remained focused on improving household incomes, reducing hardship and ensuring that the benefits of reforms were increasingly felt across the country.
He called for stronger collaboration between government and the Church in addressing security and development challenges, particularly youth empowerment, education, peacebuilding, civic responsibility and humanitarian service.
The President assured the gathering that government welcomed the Church’s prayers, counsel, constructive criticism and partnership in advancing national development.(NAN)
