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MAKURDI – Evangelist Lydia Idoko, President and founder, Faith Women Fellowship (FWF), ministries, Makurdi, Benue State, has advised politicians to look beyond the immediate needs of their families and open their ears to the cry of the electorate.
She also observed that as politicians sell themselves and their manifestos to the people, it is left for the electorate to buy the products that are being sold out to them by the politicians.
Speaking during the 40th anniversary of FWF, in Makurdi, over the weekend, Mummy Idoko, as she is fondly called, urged politicians to look beyond their selfish interests and work towards ameliorating the sufferings of the masses.
She said, “Well, that’s the way politicians do their campaign to sell themselves and their manifesto to you. So it’s left for you to buy, isn’t it?
“But for this time, I’m appealing to the politicians that they should please look beyond their immediate family, their siblings, and hear the cry of the masses and do what is needful.”
Evangelist Idoko, who is the widow of late Justice Alhassan Idoko, a former Chief Judge of Benue state, further advised the electorate that before they arrive at a decision, they should “reflect and judge the situation of the country from the eyes of their consciences and approach the situation with maturity and decorum.
“Nigerians should search and reflect deep within themselves because experiences and lessons of life help us to mature. And when we get mature, we use the experience of maturity to be able to handle situations that we find ourselves in.
“So I am appealing to Nigerians that we should use the eyes of our conscience to be able to judge what is going on and to do what is needed”, she charged.
According to Evangelist Idoko, for the past 40 years, “I am so grateful to God. 40 years in the ministry makes me feel excited and fulfilled, because God called my husband when the ministry was just 13 years old. He slept in the Lord in 1999, and it looked like my world collapsed, but God, in his faithfulness and mercy, saw us through. For me, I am out of the wilderness and every challenge.
“40 years is a milestone, and it signifies release. It is a threshold of God manifesting His power and sending angelic helpers. It has been years of resilience and tenacity through God.
“It’s a start for me because my character has been shaped for these 40 years through experiences, personal encounters with different people; for these 40 years, I’ve been able to understand that the only person who has empathy and supports and protects you is God. Forget human beings.
“That’s why they elect a leader today, they condemn the leader tomorrow. So for 40 years, it has been God. And for the rest of my life, it’s going to be God, and only God”, she stressed.
Meanwhile, the Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice John Tsoho, who eulogised the late Justice Alhassan Idoko, husband to Evangelist Idoko, noted that Justice Alhassan Idoko was instrumental to his elevation in the judiciary.
Represented by the Judge, Benue State Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Fidelis Iortyom, Justice Tsoho, observed that it is only God that has sustained the FWF, Ministry for the past 40 years.
Therefore, he applauded Evangelist Idoko and the grace of God upon her life, which is responsible for her nurturing the ministry and keeping it throughout these 40 years.
