Bauchi state Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has urged Christians and Nigerians as a whole, to embrace the virtues of honesty and love as practiced by Jesus Christ.
The governor gave the admonition Sunday in a Christmas message from the office of his media adviser, Mukhtar Gidado in Bauchi.
He said: “By the grace of God Almighty, we are witnessing yet another Christmas. We thank Him for His mercy. I need not remind you that annual Christmas celebration is in commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ who paid the supreme price in order to save the lives of his disciples and followers.
“It is with great pleasure that I, on behalf of myself, the government and the entire people of Bauchi State, extend my warm and sincere message of goodwill to all Christians on the occasion of the 2023 Christmas Celebration.
“Throughout his lifetime, Jesus Christ preached peace, honesty, love for one another and above all the fear of God. I therefore enjoin you all to, irrespective of your religious belief, imbibe and put these virtues into practice. While we observe the Christmas with merriment, we should also reflect on our routine and spiritual deeds in the last one year and pray to God for better and prosperous years ahead.
“I wish to use this occasion to reiterate my call for mutual respect and peaceful co-existence among our citizenry. We should learn to live with one another harmoniously irrespective of our political, cultural and religious differences. We should also imbibe the spirit of love and forgiveness. The Christmas period should be used to strengthen existing friendships and establish new ones.
“To this end, I call on Christians in particular to exchange visits among themselves and adherents of other faith during the Christmas period.”
