Some groups in the Catholic Diocese of Enugu have adopted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Enugu, Peter Mbah, as the preferred candidate ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The Catholic groups include leaders and representatives of the Catholic Men Organisation (CMO), Catholic Women Organisation (CWO), and Catholic Youths Organisation of Nigeria (CYON), among others, otherwise known as the Catholic laity, from different parishes in the diocese.

They disclosed this on Wednesday at the Holy Ghost Cathedral, Enugu, at an interactive session with Mr Mbah, which allowed them to listen to the governorship hopeful and his agenda for the people.

The members expressed satisfaction with the impressive and robust manifesto exhaustively presented by the PDP guber candidate. They described him as a generous heart who would fulfil God’s purposes for the state by championing the right moral values, lifting people out of poverty and catering to the people’s welfare.

Adopting Mr Mbah as their sole candidate, the chairman of CWO, Okechukwu Adonai, the CWO chairperson, Juliet Ani, youth leaders Maxwell Okwudiri and Anthonia Okonkwo presented a gift of the Holy Bible to him as a symbol of authority to lead the state.

“We are promising you on behalf of our men, women, and youths that you are our collective project. We don’t have anywhere else to go. We commit you to the hands of our Mother Mary in this journey, which we have taken as our own,” they said.

Speaking also, the director of Politics/Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Donatus Onuigbo, said the business mogul remained a dedicated Christian who had a fear of God and had been supporting the church long before thinking of vying for the position of governor.

Mr Mbah thanked the church for identifying with the cause to change the face of humanity and eradicate poverty, highlighting his development plans for the people.

He said his integrated development programmes would be driven by the private sector and move the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion in gross domestic product.

(NAN)