GOVERNOR Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, yesterday, urged Nigerians not to allow religion to divide the country, insisting that the time has come for power to shift to the South in the interest of justice, equity and fairness.

The governor spoke at the 34th Annual Convention of Agape Christian Ministries International held in Akure.

Speaking on the theme ‘This is my Time’, Akeredolu said Nigerians have always lived together in harmony despite their religious differences.

His words: “The theme of the convention is ‘This is my Time’, that is, ‘Emi Lokan’. So, if you are now saying this is your time, what is the meaning in Yoruba? It is Emi Lokan.

“The choice of the theme, I’m sure it is something that the Lord Almighty put your mind to do so that it will resonate to “this is my time, Emi loan.’

“We have an interesting coincidence here. We have the wife of the former Governor of Kwara State here. I have known her to be a true Christian, a very true one, leading the altar in her home, in a home where the husband is also a true Muslim. And they are all living together peacefully. That is one example.

“There are so many examples. But I will give one more. There is one of our leaders who is a Muslim and married to a senior Pastor in the Redeemed. We all know Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. They all live together. I know in my family that there are Muslims there, and we are not quarrelling.

“There are many people here that have both Muslims and Christians as family members and there is no quarrel. Religion should not bring quarrels among us and that is where we stand.

“What we believe and stand for is that since we started this Republic in 1999, we have been rotating power from North to South, and for us, by that rotation, this is the time of South.

“This is our time and nobody is going to take it. ‘Awa lokan’. Wonderful theme for this time.