By Amara Agu

A civil society organization operating in the country, Movement for Religious Liberty has expressed worries over the statement credited to Chief Chijioke Edeoga, Enugu Labour Party governorship candidate that he would remove the Blessed Sacrament in Government House Chapel if elected governor in Saturday’s election.

The group cautioned politicians and their supporters to refrain from making inflammatory statements capable of setting the state on fire.

Recall that the media and newspapers had reported that Mr. Edeoga had met with Anglican priests of Nsukka Ecclesiastical Communion to solicit their votes where he accused Catholic and other denominations of dominating power in Enugu State against members of the Anglican church.

In the report, Edeoga, who is a knight of the Anglican church had allegedly told clergymen that it was the turn of the Anglican church to produce the next governor, arguing that Catholic, Methodist and other churches had been ruling the state since 1991 except Anglicans.

Edeoga further bemoaned the permanent station of the Blessed Sacrament in the Government House Chapel, questioning the rationale behind it since it was meant to be an interfaith chapel.

While reacting to the incendiary comment, the convener of the religious rights organization, Chief Titus Onuigbo, said the state should be worried about the development as it was capable of fanning the ember of religious violence among people of different sects.

“We are really, really worried about the statement attributed to Chief Chijioke Edeoga, Enugu State Labour Party candidate. It is unbecoming. It is capable of setting our fragile state on fire.

“Religion shouldn’t be the basis of leadership measurements. Candidates should be able to convince the people to vote for them through what they have been able to do and what they’re going to do.

“Let us get things right. Every Christian should be worried about this dangerous path of religious sentiment. It is utterly demonic to threaten to remove the Body of Christ from the chapel,” the statement reads.

Onuigbo urged voters to cast their votes for the most qualified candidate rather than appealing to religious sentiment to attract sympathy, adding that they should look out for some qualities in individual candidates such as the capacity to lead, the track records of candidates, their life outside politics, competence and leadership charisma.

It therefore, called on Edeoga to withdraw his statement, apologize to the Catholic faithful, Christians Association of Nigeria, and members of the general public for the grave error.