Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku on Sunday told a church congregation that he would voluntarily resign from the Federal Executive Council next week in line with the October 20 deadline set for any public official seeking elective position. He made this disclosure at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Akwanga in Nasarawa State at a thanksgiving service in his honour.
“By next week 20th, anyone in cabinet or government that wants to contest election will have to step out because the time has come for us to do that and I have always made my interest known. So next week by the grace of God, I will sacrifice the comfort of the office of Minister, it’s a comfortable office and I am not tired and my leader is not tired but you see a time came when Moses stepped out of the palace to enter the wilderness with his people. That’s exactly what I am about to do now.”
The Minister said he would be returning home to seek the mandate of his people to lead them and return Nasarawa State to the path of peace, justice, progress and development.
He remarked that the time had come to end the era of violence and destruction of lives and properties in Nasarawa State since the emergence of APC rule in 2011.
Earlier, he expressed gratitude to God for lifting him up from a humble back to the position of Minister of the Federal Republic..
Drawing his inspiration from Psalm 113 in the Bible, Mr. Maku said despite all the limitations associated with people from humble background, through the special grace of God, he excelled in his educational pursuit, career and public service.
The Minister who said the story of his life was an inspiration to those who thought that poverty was a hindrance to success, mentioned moral, good upbringing, sound character, trust in God and hardwork as some of the qualities that propelled him to succeed.
Mr. Maku therefore urged the people never to lose hope because of the circumstances they found themselves but that they should strive to imbibe the attributes that would enable them to overcome the challenges of life and become great.
The Minister said because of God’s mercies upon his life, he was not in public service to amass wealth but to serve the nation to the best of his ability and set standard.
Mr. Maku used the occasion to appeal to politicians to always seek for power through Godly ways and warned that political power sought through devious means would ultimately lead to destruction.
He showered praises on his wife, Mrs. Mary Maku and singled her out as his pillar of support through sustained and fervent prayers.
In his sermon, the Chaplain of the College of Education, Akwanga, Bishop Gabriel Mgba called on Nigerians to stand firm irrespective of tribe and religion and unite against terrorism in parts of the country.
He prayed to God to raise selfless leaders at all levels to improve the quality of life of the citizens, promote good governance, democracy and development.
The Bishop called for the diversification of the economy to grow beyond oil and improvement in the electoral process.
Among dignitaries who attended the Church Service were Senator Solomon Ewuga,the Minister of State for Works, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information, Dr. Folashade Yemi Esan, representative of the Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Tope Ajakaiye, the Director General of NTA, Mr. Sola Omole and members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly.
Reports on Sunday said eight other ministers are expected to also resign next week to pursue their gubernatorial ambitions.
