Anambra Polls: Church offers parties equal campaign support
The Diocese of the Niger, Anglican Communion, Anambra State has developed a new and neutral strategy for aiding and providing equal campaign opportunities to all political parties in the state in response to an evident urgent need.
The Directorate for Civic and Political Affairs (DCPA) of the diocese is currently driving the paradigm change, which is claimed to be unparalleled in the state’s election history.
The over-ten-year-old DCPA was stated to have reconsidered and chosen a creative approach in order to provide sound political education to the grassroots while also providing solid platforms for all parties in the state to campaign on.
On Saturday, February 22, 2025, the directorate held a one-day brainstorming session in the All Saints’ Cathedral in Onitsha, during which new members and executives from all political parties in the state developed a plan for the November 2025 election.
In his brief introductory remarks, the directorate’s pioneer coordinator, Ven Dr Emma Ukpeke, highlighted, among other things, that the goal of the brainstorming was for the directorate to raise political consciousness among the grassroots.
“This is one of the directorate’s programs: to establish strong structures in time for the state election in 2025. This is what the coordinator and his executive are attempting to express here today,” the venerable stated. He reminded the people that political power was in their hands, and he encouraged them to take political activities seriously by actively identifying with and voting for any party of their choosing.
Ven Dr Ukpeke warned people not to sell their votes, claiming that doing so constituted the willful selling of one’s birthright. The directorate’s coordinator, Rev Canon Dr Ifeanyi Aniakor, stated in a brief conversation shortly after the gathering that the session was a true leveraging platform for the DCPA’s political enlightenment of the grassroots. “The directorate is a grassroots movement for Christians, particularly Anglicans, in the church and on the streets.
“It is also a way by which we provide the people with political power, civic rights, and obligations. “DCPA is a grassroots mobilization platform for all political parties in the state,” he explained. He stated, “Diocesan and archdeaconry political coordinators of all the political parties are assisting to develop the parties so that politicians and their parties can make judicious use of the directorate.”. The DCPA Coordinator fiercely urged the people of the state, particularly Anglicans, to sit up and stop being passive about politics.
Earlier, Sir Oselloka Offoh, Director of Communications for the Diocese of the Niger, praised the DCPA for their vital political tasks and urged the coordinator and his executives not to give up. He encouraged diocese parishioners to take their political activity seriously in order to avoid being treated as second-class citizens.
Sir Victor Ndu, Deputy Director, Lay DCPA, reemphasized the directorate’s function, noting that the day’s meeting was one key route for political enlightenment. He urged diocese parishioners to turn out in big numbers not only to support their preferred political party, but also to vote on election day.
