Fr. Kelvin Ugwu, a Nigerian missionary priest serving in the Gambia, has informed his parishioners that prayers cannot mend refineries or stabilise the economy of the country.

On Friday, Ugwu made the claim in a post on his verified Facebook profile.

The cleric claimed that some church ministers and priests, like himself, continued to support good governance since people frequently requested their prayers and gave them hope and encouragement to deal with the hardship and famine in the nation.

He believed that poor government action could worsen the problem.

He stated, “We kept campaigning for good governance because of this condition when you urge church ministers or priests to continuously pray and offer people hope and encouragement to endure the struggle and famine in the country. Because in reality, prayers cannot stabilise your economy or fix refineries. You can lead a 10-day campaign to free people from poverty and give them access to doors, you can fast and yell all night, but with just one ‘agbado’ policy in place, you will witness how people who already had doors opened will no longer be able to see windows to pass through.