A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kenneth Okonkwo, has urged Nigerian Christians to become more actively involved in politics, saying they must adopt what he described as a “liberation theology approach” to rescue the country.
NEWSNGR reports that Okonkwo made the call in a statement on Sunday while reacting to the concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) during their July 28, 2026, meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The bishops, led by the Archbishop of Kaduna, Matthew Ndagoso, had visited Tinubu to discuss the political climate, economy and security situation in the country.
According to Okonkwo, the bishops expressed concern that people around the President were presenting a rosy picture of the country, which did not reflect the reality on the ground.
He said the bishops told Tinubu that “the nation is bleeding” as a result of insecurity, while the economy was not improving the conditions of poor Nigerians.
However, Okonkwo said the bishops raised their greatest concern over what they perceived as the danger of Nigeria sliding into a one-party state.
He said the Catholic leaders believed the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was determined to win elections “at all costs, by all means” and use every power at its disposal to achieve the objective.
Okonkwo said the bishops also warned that the 2027 general elections could be conducted in a manner that would render the votes of Nigerians ineffective, even if the elections were free and fair.
He described the position as “a total vote of no confidence in the management of the election under Tinubu’s partial and dependent INEC.”
He added that the bishops had warned that failure to ensure free, fair and credible elections could plunge the country into further difficulties.
Backing the bishops’ concerns, Okonkwo said Christians could no longer remain passive in the political affairs of the country.
He said, “Christians in Nigeria must up their political games. They must adopt the liberation theology approach to rescue Nigeria.”
According to him, Jesus Christ was a liberator who confronted corrupt political, commercial and religious leaders during His earthly ministry.
Okonkwo said Jesus openly rebuked such leaders and used terms including “fox, thieves, hypocrites, fools, blind, snakes, and vipers” to condemn their conduct.
He added that Jesus also drove corrupt individuals away when necessary and shunned them when appropriate.
The ADC chieftain argued that Christians should therefore see political participation as part of their responsibility to society, noting that the Christian faith recognises the government as being under the authority of Jesus Christ.
“The belief of Christians is that the government is upon the shoulders of Jesus. This is even an Old Testament provision that predicted the birth of Jesus and his mission on earth,” he said.
Okonkwo further argued that Nigeria’s worsening security and economic conditions showed the consequences of excluding Christian values from governance.
“The belief of Christians is that any government that removes Jesus from its presence has removed peace from it,” he said.
He claimed that Nigerians had witnessed an unprecedented loss of peace under the Tinubu administration, stressing that Christians must become more deliberate about seeking political power and representation.
He said, “Time has come for Christians to be represented in the presidency through the President or the Vice President.”
