Anambra 2025: Bishop Nwokolo Urges Politicians To Campaign With Manifestos Not Thugs
Julie Sylvia Onitsha
As the November 8, 2025 Anambra State Governorship Election draws near, the Bishop on the Niger, Anglican Communion, the Rt Rev Dr Owen Nwokolo, has issued a firm, yet courteous call to politicians, urging them to campaign with manifestos, not with thugs.
He encouraged political parties, their flag bearers and supporters to craft better methods to win votes, instead of resorting to the use of thugs, miscreants and street urchins for electioneering
Nwokolo made the appeal in an interview shortly after ordaining 33 priests at the All Saints’ Cathedral, Onitsha, Sunday June 22, 2025.
He urged politicians to be painstaking enough to translate their manifestos, programmes and promises into intelligible fragments to the masses rather than heating up the polity with the use of thugs.
According to him, “Politicians should do the right thing. The Lord is God of order, everything must be done decently. For obvious reasons, campaigning with thugs is unacceptable and should not be part of our democratic process. Such ungodly and backward practices must be rejected by our society.
“We therefore encourage all politicians in the state for the November 8, Gubernatorial Election to rather find ways to diligently sell their manifestos to the people instead of causing troubles with the hire of thugs and miscreants.
“We prefer they talk to people in the most civilised manner in order to win their support and votes.
“Again, if they make any promise when campaigning, on winning, they should endeavour to fulfill their election promises.When they do that, they will, in fact, have built confidence in the people as well as make our society better and progressive”, the Prelate explained.
Justifying the policy of ordaining persons of diverse professions and trades in the diocese, Bishop Nwokolo said that the policy was one rooted in the philosophy of domination of one’s environment.
“Yes, the vision of this diocese is that primarily, we will have dominion in every part, for we have to make impact in our society. So, for us to have people that will make impact, in order to have dominion around us, we must engage people who have the capacity, who are adequately trained in various walks of life. In fact, that’s what we are doing.
“We have established a university, a polytechnic, a college of nursing sciences, a school of health sciences, as well as numerous primary and secondary schools, and skills acquisition centres. These institutions prepare people for productive living.
“Our priests contribute not only by preaching the Gospel but also by helping to shape both the minds and bodies of our people,” the bishop clarified.
