The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku has confirmed that he will resign his ministerial appointment on October 20, to realise his gubernatorial ambition in 2015 in Nasarawa State.
He made the disclosure Sunday, at a special Mass thanksgiving at the Catholic Diocese of Lafia, St. Patrick’s Parish, Akwanga, Nasarawa State.
The Minister said it was time to sacrifice the comfort of a ministerial position at the center to join his people and go into the wilderness in Nasarawa State to stop the killings, miscarriage of justice and liberate the people in the State.
Maku who said he was a typical example of grass to grace because of God’s favour as he was born to peasants farmers who did not even record the date of his birth in a village that is liken to the biblical reference that “can anything good come out of Nazareth”, assured that he was not going to politics for the gains of office but to liberate his people.
“Just thank God for me, just pray for me because by next week October 20th, anyone in the cabinet that wants to contest election must step down because the time has come for us to do that.
“It is time to make my interest known by the grace of God I will sacrifice the comfort of a minister, to go into the wilderness.
“I want to sacrifice the comfort of the high office that I am in now to join my people in the wilderness in Nasarawa State to fight for peace and justice in this state.
“There is too much blood being shared here, there is too much evil taking place here, there is too much destruction going on in Nasarawa State. The time has come for us to ask God to bring this era to an end. And is only God that can do it, we are asking God that as we step out voluntarily which is very very important to me, that as we go into the wilderness that God as He did for Moses he will lead us to cross the red sea of politics, rip water from the rock, give us manner of heaven, pull down the wall of Jericho.
“There may be giants out there, all over, but like Caleb we trust God, we are able to conquer, we are able to subdue. So all we need is prayers and thank God for what He has done for me, not for what we are looking at, being governor will not really add anything to my name, I think I have made all the name I could make in Nigeria. But this sacrifice is for my people, to liberate my people.
“I’m here to thank God just like he took David from the bush to on king over his brothers, God has been good to me. The summary of my life is that I’m here by the grace of God. God can go to the unlikely places and raise a leader,” he stated.
Earlier in his sermon, Rev, Fr. Jerry Ngbaya, taken from the Gospel, Matthew 22:1-14, banquet is celebrated by the kings that have the money and has nothing to do with the poor.
He said God appears at moments of pain and despair and invite his people to a banquet to wipe away their tears.
He assured that with God a meaningless life, ebola, terrorism, marginalisation is something that will not last for ever in Nigeria. “In His time God will remove all obstacles from our country Nigeria.
“In Matthew 22:1-14 the special guests treated the banquet with levity and treated the king’s servants badly. Eventually he was not happy with them and dealt with them as they rightly deserved.
“This gospel is a warning to all Christians that is not enough to go to church, we must work for our salvation.
“That there are churches everywhere is not enough but we must live our lives according to the dictates of Christ.
“Nigeria is rated one of the most religious nations in the world but is an irony that is among the most corrupt. Her citizens are insulted as a result of corruption. Even countries that are not religious have warned their citizens of doing business with Nigeria, yet Nigeria has the largest religious people in the world with the largest contingents to pilgrimage.
”It is important that we must detach ourselves from material things. Some of us make material things take the place of God in our lives.
“The Catholic Church is to pray for good leaders and not to identify with any political party,” he said.
