Senate President position is a call to serve our people and to transform Nigeria.

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I am grateful to Almighty God for His grace and mercy towards us all. All glory and honour be ascribed unto our Lord for keeping us all alive. We remain eternally grateful for his love and mercies.

Without trying to make any one jealous, I wish to state that God has special love for me, how does one explain the humungous undeserving blessings he continually showers on me? How would I have imagined that from my very humble beginning in Ukana Ikot Ntuen, Essien Udium, Local Government of Akwa Ibom State,that I, Godswill Akpabio will rise to the coveted office of President of Nigerian Senate? Indeed, our God is marvellous and greater than all imaginations.

To me, this Senate President position is a call to serve our people and to transform Nigeria. I feel highly honoured and humbled that I am today in a position to Support our President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in building the Nigeria of our collective dreams.

I received this thanksgiving invitation with great excitement. I wish to thank Most Rev. Dr. Peter Ogunmuyiwa, who by the grace of God, is the first Archbishop of the Abuja Province of the African Church, a personal friend and also a friend of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), for inviting me to this momentous gathering. As we may all know, the Archbishop is the immediate past Chaplain of the National Ecumenical Centre, CAN HQ Abuja. We thank God for using him as an instrument of advancement of the African Church and spiritual development of the people.

I could not have missed this auspicious event giving the significance of the theme of the occasion: The Church and Politics. The present challenge which our Country Nigeria is facing calls for urgent divine intervention through earnest fervent prayers. By this, I do not in any way mean to undermine the role that we as leaders in whatever sphere, whether spiritual or temporal, must play to defeat the numerous forces that have held Nigeria down all these years. God willing and with renewed zeal and commitment, we shall begin to see progress in religious, political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of our lives.

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, as we embark on this journey of Nigeria’s rebirth, it is imperative that the Church upholds its responsibility of serving as the moral compass and a reorientation platform for the Citizens. Nigeria will only make meaningful progress when every Stakeholder and key player participate in nation building.

It is common knowledge that Christians are called to be the light and salt of the world. According to one writer, “we cannot be the light and the salt to this generation without getting involved in politics and understanding the ethos and structures of governance. You may recall how the African Church at inception fought for the liberation of the Blacks from spiritual and political dominance of Western world. Indeed, time has come for the Church to take its position as a primary driver of progressive change. Its now or never, as Nigerians are eager for a new sustainable order.

At the level of legislation, we will push for greater collaboration with the greater community which includes the church by extension.

On behalf of the Senate and the National Assembly, I thank you once again for the opportunity to join you at the Thanksgiving Service on the 2023 Synod/Congress of Abuja Province.

May God bless our efforts!

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Senator Godswill Akpbio, CON

PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA