AVOID NEGATIVE, INFLAMMAORY COMMENTS DURING CAMPAIGNS

Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Bunso

THE PRESIDENT of the Apostolic Church of Ghana, Apostle John Annan Adotey, has appealed to Ghanaians, particularly politicians, to avoid negative and inflammatory statements during their campaign for this year's elections.
Rev. Adotey said that politicians must respect each other’s views since it was the only way to ensure peaceful elections.
Preaching a sermon to climax a four-day national delegates' conference of the Women's Movement of the Church at Bunso, Apostle Adotey said "we, as a people with a common destiny, must make every conscious effort to show mutual tolerance and respect for each other's opinion for our common good".
The conference, on the theme "Witnessing under the power of the Holy Spirit", brought together about 400 leaders of the various areas of the church across the country to take stock of the achievements and failures of the movement, as well as strategise on the way forward.
According to the President of the church, although the country had remained an oasis of peace among nations in the sub-region over the years, Ghanaians must make every conscious effort to avoid inflammatory languages when expressing their political views.
This, he noted, could be achieved when "we strive to become each other's keeper and show much tolerance and respect towards one another irrespective of our political affiliations".
To this end, Apostle Adotey also reminded the media of the roles they could play in the sustenance of the peace the country was already enjoying and therefore urged them to remain neutral before, during and after the general elections .
Apostle Adotey also expressed his worry about the manner in which the country's image had recently been dented on the international scene as a result of it being used as a transit point for narcotic drugs.
Such a negative image associated with the country, he said, had significantly contributed to the difficulties Ghanaians went through when acquiring visas to travel outside the country.
He therefore called on the people to help reverse such trend, saying "since righteousness exhorts a nation, we should embark on a godly revolution so as to fight the drug menace to reverse the negativity associated with the country in recent times".
Apostle Adotey also urged Christians to be guided by the Holy Spirit to live worthy lifestyles to enable them to win more souls for Christ, adding ,"without the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot achieve such purpose by ourselves".
For her part, the National Secretary of the movement, Deaconess Mary Tagoe, asked the congregation to, as part of their social responsibilities, help educate members of their various communities on the benefits of the National Health Insurance Scheme to enable them to also enjoy quality and affordable health care service.