Gov. Hope Uzodimma of Imo has called on the Christian faithful in the state and in Nigeria to use the period of the Easter celebration to renew their hope for a better tomorrow.

Mr Uzodimma said this in his Easter message, adding that the hope of the Christians would be met in the resurrected Jesus Christ.

He said that the federal government, “under the able leadership of President Bola Tinubu, is working hard to improve the economy.

“We are already seeing some of the positive signs of success.

“Therefore, we should use the period of the Easter to renew our hope for a better tomorrow,” he said.

Mr Uzodimma, who noted that Easter was the foundation of Christianity, urged believers to “use the occasion of the Easter to rekindle and reinvigorate our love for one another, for our neighbour, for our state and our country.

“This is the cardinal message of Easter, which I urge you to imbibe and practice with the religious zeal of a true Christian,” he further said.

He expressed joy over the successful completion of the 40-day fasting, which, he said, was necessary “to mortify our flesh so as to sharpen our spirituality in readiness for the risen Christ.”

According to the governor, if Christ had not died and resurrected, our faith as Christians would have been stillborn.

He emphasised the need for the Christian faithful to always remember the sacrificial love of Christ that binds Christians together and urged them to reciprocate that love through exemplary conduct.

He, however, said that some attitudes and conducts of Christians suggested that of those nailing Jesus Christ again on the cross.

Mr Uzodimma said: “As Christians, we hardly show love to each other or our neighbours.

“There is no evidence that, as Christians, we love our state, our community and our country.

“If we do, we will never betray the trust of a public office under our watch by looting public treasury or greedy and illegally appropriating public assets.

“If we are truly Christians, then banditry and criminality should be receding in our society, not escalating by the day.

“I often ask, where is our Christianity when we acquire all the wealth and estates while our neighbours languish in excruciating poverty?

“Indeed, the wickedness of this generation, the rancid, pervasive inter-ethnic hatred that has become the order of the day among us and the heart-wrenching daily shedding of innocent blood do not in any way indicate that we understand or appreciate the essence of either Christianity or Easter.

“What happened to our humanity? Even beasts do not kill each other like we do,” he said.

Mr Uzodimma, who appealed for repentance, said, “It is important that we nail on the cross those vices, which tend to be a wedge between us and righteousness and progress.”

“We should show love to our fellow human beings because he who loves does not hurt,” the governor said.

While wishing the people a happy Easter celebration, Mr Uzodimma assured them that his administration would continue to work hard to ameliorate the people’s sufferings.

He said the economy of the state was looking up.

“With the faithful implementation of the 2024 budget, we shall surely experience a new lease of life with the expectations of a regenerated standard of living for our people.

“No matter what happens, we should never lose hope.

“With the resurrected Christ, things can only be better.

“Mark my word, better days are ahead,” he said. 

(NAN)