Nigerian Northern State Governor shuts down 2 churches, Seminary, church hospital

 Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State has orderd the immediate closure of two churches, a seminary and a church-owned hospitals and secondary school all in Saminaka, Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
He said the closure was to avoid the eruption of violence among factions of the congregations whose leaderships’ positions he described as, “principally to preserve their personal interests with little concern for the common good, and the peace and security of Kaduna State”.
A statement on behalf of the governor sign by his spokesman, Samuel Aruwan Wednesday in Kaduna named the affected bodies as: Theological Seminary of Northern Nigeria, (TSNN), Shalom Comprehensive College, Assemblies of God Church, AGC, Nmbare all in Saminaka. The rest are: Assemblies of God Church (Jerusalem) and AGC Evangelist Hospital, also in Saminaka:
Reads the statement: “The Kaduna State Security Council at its 15th meeting, held on the 15th September, 2015, deliberated on the leadership crisis in the Assemblies of God Church, AGC, Saminaka District, Lere local government area of the state.
“The council discussed this matter in the context of preventing threats to the peace and stability of the State.
“The Council noted that the leadership crisis has led to disintegration of order in the church, and raised tensions between the followers of the rival camps.
The crisis has also widened to the students of the church-owned school and seminary, who are now split and divided on factional lines.
“The Council reviewed previous efforts made to resolve the crisis. It noted that these were aborted by those involved in the leadership tussle, principally to preserve their personal interests with little concern for the common good, and the peace and security of Kaduna State.
“The Council unanimously agreed that if left unchecked, the growing tension may degenerate into total breakdown of law and order in the said area, with the potential to spread to other parts of the state.
“Therefore, the Council has taken steps to preserve the peace. It has unanimously directed the immediate closure of the following:
“Theological Seminary of Northern Nigeria, (TSNN) Saminaka. Shalom Comprehensive College, Saminaka Assemblies of God Church, Nmbare, Saminaka and Assemblies of God Church (Jerusalem) Saminaka AGC Evangelist Hospital, Saminaka
“As a result of these measures, those who may be affected will be admitted into government schools or hospitals, if they exercise the option.
“The Council also directed that the status quo with regard to farmlands, houses and other assets of the church be upheld pending resolution of the leadership crisis, which is a matter before the Supreme Court.
“Kaduna State Government wishes to reiterate that it will not tolerate the use of religion and ethnicity to cause crisis in the state.
“The government has also announced that it will prosecute anyone, no matter his or her standing, that is implicated in fomenting crisis in whatever form in the State”, the statement concluded.
Culled From Vanguard Newspaper

My anger with Jesus — Mike Awoyinfa

 Some 365 days after his death, celebrated veteran journalist and a former Vice Chairman of The Sun, Pastor Dimgba Igwe, literally returned to life last Tuesday at the conference hall of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos, during the launch of ’50 World Editors,’ a book the deceased co-authored with Mike Awoyinfa, his ‘twin brother’ and colleague.
A hit-and-run driver had snuffed the life out of Dimgba Igwe in the morning of September 6, 2014 while he was on a work out, along with some other joggers near his Okota residence of Isolo local government area of Lagos state.
A year on, Awoyinfa, pioneer Managing Director of The Sun is still to come to terms with the reality that Dimgba Igwe is no more. “As long as I am alive, then Dimgba Igwe is not dead,” Awoyinfa affirmed, adding that the late Dimgba Igwe will continue from the Great Beyond, to co-author subsequent books with him.   “Every September, I am going to launch a new book here and I will always write the name of Dimgba Igwe as the co-author,” Awoyinfa said, flanked on the podium by his late colleague’s two daughters, Glory and Victory. Awoyinfa said death was not capable of separating him from Dimgba Igwe, describing the departed as the leader and voice of their partnership spanning about three decades.
Why I got angry with Jesus
Noting that he has since asked for forgiveness for   allowing his emotions to nearly betray his trust in God, Awoyinfa went down memory lane to relive his reaction in far away United Kingdom, at the news of Dimgba Igwe’s passage. For Awoyinfa, the impact of the news on him was so devastating to the extent that he   came short of challenging God to a wrestling contest, for allowing Dimgba Igwe to die. He said he rolled himself on the floor and continuously screamed, to the astonishment of those who were around him then, that, “my pillar of support is gone!” at which che wife reproached him and reminded Awoyinfa that, “Jesus is your   pillar of support.” But an inconsolable Awoyinfa retorted, “then why did Jesus allow this to happen? As a reporter, I must ask questions.”
For Dimgba Igwe’s widow, Obioma, efforts to hold back the tears when she mounted the podium were fruitless even after vowing to the audience that she was not going to cry in the course of the presentation of her written address. “This book meant so much to my husband,” she began, adding that, “it is one of the sweetest memories that will continue to live with me. Since death snatched away the love of my life, I have been overwhelmed by support from Nigerians some of who I did not even know…. Then the tears began to flow and from across the audience, a number of men and women reached for their handkerchiefs.
The Fashola challenge
President Muhammadu Buhari in his goodwill message at the ceremony lamented that the circumstances surrounding Dimgba Igwe’s death could be likened to what the President described as the impunity with which crimes are committed in Nigeria and the perpetrators walk away unpunished.
According to Buhari who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information, Mrs Oluseyi Adekunle, “Nigerians should learn from the partnership and friendship between Dimgba Igwe and Mike Awoyinfa to move the nation forward because in spite of our differences, partnership can still work.”
In a message he sent at the ceremony, immediate past Governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Fashola, regretted that Nigeria lost a good man in Dimgba Igwe and insisted that, “the greatest duty we owe Dimgba Igwe is to unravel the mystery behind his death. We must do him this justice and keep on probing until we solve the mystery.”
Chairman of the occasion, Chief Segun Osoba, in his remarks said that, “Dimgba Igwe still lives.” He recalled that in August 2014, a month before Dimgba Igwe was killed, “we were together in Katsina where we discussed the future of newspapers in Nigeria.”
The ceremony attracted renown journalists and other media practitioners from within and outside Nigeria including Vanguard’s General Manager, Gbenga Adefaye, veteran journalists and publishers, Ismail Isa Funtua, Wada Maida, Mohammed Haruna, Ray Ekpu and Comfort Obi.
Some others also included, Odia Ofiemu, Dr. Amanze Obi, Tunji Bello, Tony Onyima, Bayo Onanuga, Kunle Ajibade, Kayode Komolafe, Adebayo Williams, Louis Odion, among several others.
The book
According to Awoyinfa, it took him and Dimgba Igwe 10 years to produce the 628-page ’50 World Editors.’ He explained that they wrote the book because of their passion, love and commitment to journalism, “the only profession we know.”
The book is a compendium of interviews with the cited editors from across the world including Nigeria’s Pulitzer award winner, Dele Olojede, Nduka Obaigbena, Babatunde Jose and John Momoh, among others.
Culled From Vanguard Newspaper

TROI Invites Abuja To One-Week Excellence Encounter Programme

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Stop Complaining,Support Buhari, Kumuyi Warns Nigerians

Pas. Kumuyi

 General Superintendent of Deeper Christ-ian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi at the flag-off of a state-wide crusade in Lagos declared that he was praying for President Muhammadu Buhari to succeed in his administration’s war against corruption in the country. Kumuyi-1Addressing newsmen at the opening of the Lagos City-Wide Crusade organised by the church in conjunction with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos, he urged Nigerians to support the president rather than complaining. According to the cleric, Pre-sident Buhari needed the wisdom of God to pull through in the fight against corruption in the country, adding “My prayer for the country is that the mighty change, supernatural change that God has done for individuals, He should do for our country and you see, God works in diverse ways and as we see all the things happening, fighting against corruption and all that, we need the wisdom of God, power of God and the support of God. “My prayer is that God will assist the government to actually pull through until we get to the end of the tunnel in Jesus name. A change is coming and the change has started already,” he said, admonishing Nigerians to put their trust in God as there is hope for the nation. “The encouragement I want to give everyone is that we should have hope and we should look unto God Who is able and will definitely turn things around, it may not take place this very minute, but God is going to do wonders in our country and things will turn around for the better,” he assured. Kumuyi also assured that in spite of the socio-economic uncertainties in the country, there is still a strong hope for Nigerians. In a message entitled, “The Wonders of Supernatural Chan-ge,” he emphasised that God has power to change all negative circumstances, assuring the huge crowd of participants that no matter the challenges of life, which they had been facing and which they might have sought for solutions in different quarters, God would provide lasting solution to them. Kumuyi, who pointed out that the greatest problem of man was sin, urged those who were bound by chain of sins to urgently seek forgiveness from God. “The Lord does not condemn sinners but out to save them. Sinners must boldly take a step by confessing their sins. It is futile to think that it is impossible to live a righteous life. God is capable of saving sinners no matter the level of sin, which they have committed. “Every work of Satan in your life must be reversed. Bad luck has come to an end. Sorrow and reproach have come to an end. This is a time for supernatural change. You must leave all your sins behind. God has declared that this day, salvation has come into your life. God will not reject you,” said. One of the major highlights of the city-wide crusade which had continued in Ketu, Gbagada, Ikorodu and Festac Town is that despite the huge cost of organis-ing the programme the church has refused to collect offering at the venues. Participants at each of the five venues so far, had expressed pleasant surprise at the develop-ment with some arguing that several other churches would have taken advantage of the huge financial outlay involved to collect two or three offerings to offset the expense. A spokesperson for the church told our reporter that the church does not charge people to attend its crusades, insisting that it is rather more concerned about winning souls for the kingdom of God. One of the participants at the crusade, Ms Marvellous Archi-bong, testified how she regained her sight, disclosing that she was born blind, but that 18 after her birth, Kumuyi came to her state to preach and that after his prayer, she regained her sight. Archibong said: “After the Kumuyi’s prayer that day, I had a dream and in the dream, I saw a man in white robe operating a lady and the man told her that the lady is me. When I woke up the following day, I started seeing.” As he bring transfromation to Agege The General Superint-endent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Folorunsho Kumuyi is bringing his message of spiritual, moral, physical, material, political and econo-mic transformation to the peo-ple of Agege in Lagos as the church’s state-wide crusade berths at the Agege Stadium on September 22. The crusade coming on the heels of a promise of the political change made by the new admini-stration in Lagos State. Clearly, since the anchor of the Christian belief is that things that are seen are made from the things not seen, there cannot be effective change unless spiritual change is first and foremost completed. This crusade is then a task consciously taken by the Man of God who under-stands the linkages of times and seasons in the move of God in providing transformation for His people. One crucial aspect of the state-wide crusade is the high level of partnership and collaboration that the quintessential pastor brought to play in organizing it. Deeper Life is working with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to ensure that the logistics and the spiritual support for the crusade is total. An indication that the people of Lagos are in for a spectacular time of the move of God, a list of expectation has been given for the people to benchmark the success of the event. One of them is that Lagos State will experien-ce a wave of change never felt before, in the spiritual realm that will enhance unprecedented moral and physical progress that will in turn bring material development to the people. There is the assurance that Agege and it’s environs will be turned downside up with the move of God for Jesus because wherever the spirit of God is there is liberty. Liberty has been programmed for Agege and there is the promise also that like in the days of Prophet Elijah fire will come down from heaven to consume everything that God has not put in place. In another dimension, mountains will be moved, valleys will be filled and all crooked places made straight through the power of God. Other areas where Pastor Kumuyi has promised that the mighty finger of God will do wonders is in the prosperity of the people. There will be spectacular miracles which have never been heard of or seen before in Agege. Businesses that have been dead, all others that are ailing, many that are not doing well will receive life and flourish again. This will be boom time for Agege to replace the pall of gloom that has been over the place. Pastor Kumuyi has held two similar crusades before and they were highly successful. The first was a one day-crusade just like the one scheduled for September 22 and it took place at Central College, then known as Dairy Farm College in 2004 and the second was at the Cocoa Ground, Ogba in 2009. The Dairy Farm College crusade was a spectacle to behold. The thronging crowd was to later extend beyond the major road, linking Agege to Akilo and Ogba. It also extended to Pen Cinema Junction. It was a lock down for Christ and Agege knew that the King of kings and the Lord of lords actually came down from heaven to be among His people. The second crusade at Cocoa Ground at Ogba in 2009 was also spectacularly successful. It was a three-day event which witnessed an extra-ordinary explosion of the power of God. Now, the G.S. is set for Agege and the awakening and trans-formation is about to shower. He is coming to demonstrate the uncommon grace and energy that God has bestowed upon him. At about 74 years, he is getting stronger with renewed vigour every day. For some months now, he has been traversing local governments and communities to bring salvation to those bound by the devil. He wants to cover the entire country even including territor-ies being terrorized by Boko-Haram. Pastor Kumuyi will also bring the strength and speed of God to wake up Agege, the residents and all those who will come into the area with the belief that God will bring great transformation to their lives. Culled From Vanguard Newspaper

Men of God failed to deliver Jonathan from a spell – Bishop Mike Okonkwo

 Dr Mike Okonkwo is the presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, TREM, with over 160 branches in Nigeria and across the globe. The top Evangelist who will celebrate his 70th birthday come September 6, in this interview shares his life challenges, his turn around as well as the present anti-corruption crusade in the country. Excerpts. My Parents and career My parents were angry with me for choosing the Ministry. They did everything they could to stop me but I was resolute. They could not understand why of all professions, I chose the ministry. I was working in the bank, and very comfortable. They said I had bright future in the then African Continental Bank, Lagos. And to worsen it all, of all places in the Pentecostal church, they maintained that if I want to answer the call of God, I should go and answer from the Anglican or Catholic. At a stage, they went and arranged for police to arrest me, frame me for something in order to distract me and change my mind. But nothing was going to change my mind. So, in another four years, I refused to have contact with them so that I would not be distracted. But I am glad to say before my father died, he was able to see and rw that this is the ministry God has actually called me. Growing up My parents were disciplinarians. My father was a civil servant in the then Post & Telecommunication. My father sent me to Offa in 1957 to live with a teacher. There, I passed my entrance exams to Mayflower Grammar school, Ikenne. Because of the need to understand my native language, after two years, I changed to Merchant of Life in Oba, a school close to Onitsha where I graduated in 1963. When I left school, I worked in Ports Authority in Lagos for a few months. What I saw there was frightening – how money changed hands. I was not comfortable in that environment and I told my parents, that the place was not for me. So, again, I had to leave. I moved to African Continental Bank. Even as cashier in ACB, I remember one day, as I went for lunch, somebody followed me and asked that I should change some counterfeit money for genuine ones for him, saying he would give me a share from it. I was afraid and I ran away because I felt somebody would be listening. It was during the civil war and we were afraid as non-indigene, so, I asked for a transfer and I was moved to Onitsha. Thereafter, the civil war intensified, the Nigerian troops conquered Onitsha, we then moved to Awka and from there again, to Port Harcourt. At that point different branches of ACB were moving, eventually, we came to Owerri. In Owerri, the manager did not like me and it had nothing to do with my job. He felt I should be coming around him like other people but I felt there was no reason for that. When the war intensified, they were now recruiting people into the army by force. Although banking was viewed as part of essential services during the war, as the war intensified, they had to recruit from the banks as well. One of the days they came to recruit, they conscripted some people into the army but they missed me because I went to buy cigarette. The manager was not too happy that I was not part of them. I did not understand why he would want me to go to the army. He went to the camp and secured the release of those selected and asked that the exercise should be repeated and through a ballot system. Again, we did ballot and I won that I will not to go to the army. He was not still happy. Again, he organised that the military people should come to the office and pick whoever they wanted perhaps with an indication that they should pick me. We were busy at the counter that day and suddenly the manager called me and two others. We went to his office and we met a military captain and his assistant. The manager said, ‘gentlemen, the headquarters said we should hand you over to the Captain.’ I wanted to run, and the Captain said he would shoot me if dared. Then I said okay, they should at least allow us to hand over our official duties. They agreed, and as soon as we stepped out of the manager’s office, we ran away. I ran for miles and again, I found myself in a military camp where one of my class mates was in charge. I told him what happened. That was how I stopped working in ACB. From there I went to look for my parents where they were being held as refugees. By then, Dr Iloh was in charge of the Red Cross. I stayed with him for a few months. The war intensified and I was afraid they were going to catch me on the streets to join the army because that was the norm. So, when I found out that I could not escape it, I told my parents that my brother and I have to willingly go and register in the military. So, we did, and the training went for three months and throughout the period, we never fired one shot. After the third month, we got a pass to see our parents and that same day, we were told they were moving us to the force headquarters and to Gabon for further training since Gabon had recognised Biafra. They distributed riffles and bullets to us, but I told my brother, he should not take the arms and ammunition. He asked why, but I said he should follow me. We went back through the gate we came in and the Sentry was there who sensed we wanted to run but we told him that one of the officers left his cloths half way and he sent us to get the cloths. Surprisingly, he agreed, and as soon as we got out of the gate, we disappeared into the bush. The next day, the war ended while every person, sent to war the day we escaped from the headquarters were all killed. Those who were alive did whatever they wanted like smoking, womanising and all kinds of things. That was the turning point in my life. And since then, every step I took has been a miracle. Challenges Here were several challenges, and even now there is no end to challenges. The first one as a Minister was when I lost my first child. I got married to my wife in 1980 and we had our first daughter in 1982. We went to a crusade in Abeokuta in December 1984, we came back before the Christmas and on the Christmas eve, She developed high fever and early morning of 26th she died. It was a day I was going to preach. After praying and she did not come to life again, I left her in the room and still went to preach. I did not mention what happened to anyone. As a minister, that is one of the challenges you face. Another experience was that my immediate younger brother who was the only support I had when I went into a ministry. We were six boys and four girls our parents had. He had passed the high level exams and was to go for Medicine. But my parents did not want him to go as a way of punishing him for supporting my cause as a minister. They wanted to know if that could make me change my mind. But as God would have it, he still went to the University, passed as a medical doctor, joined the Navy and still joined me in the ministry. He was one of our praise and worship leaders. So, in the late 80s, I was traveling out and I asked him to conduct an interview on my behalf. It was when armed robbery began as an issue then. Some robbers followed him to his car, closed-in on him inside the church compound and asked him to bring the key of the 504 car. I think the military instinct in him made him to resist and started fighting them and he was shot. They took him to one hospital in Akoka, that could not manage the situation, yet did not refer him. I was abroad, I got wind of the situation and I asked that they moved him to a better hospital, but unfortunately, it was late, he died. It was very devastating to me. But I made up my mind, challenges should not make me reject the call of God. I told myself that the best I could do is to be the best in my calling. There are also challenges of not having enough funds to do the calling of God. For me, if everything you need is already there, then you don’t need God. So, if it is God that provides everything you need, you must depend on God for your needs. About Nigeria I have always said it that God’s hand is upon Nigeria. If not it would have been Nunc dimittis long ago. But God has a prophetic hand upon Nigeria. It is not an accident, irrespective of our different challenges, and contradictions. So, whether the devil likes it or not Nigeria is going to be very great. On Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade Everybody knows that corruption has killed us. It is not only endemic, in fact, the level is that if you are not corrupt, you will not be a good Nigerian. That is the level we have degenerated. And it is unfortunate calling Buhari Mr. Go-slow. How do you want him to come and clear the mess of 16 years in two days? I don’t know why we are never truthful with ourselves. If the only thing Buhari can achieve is just to instil fear of corruption, and all the machinery of government and agencies are working to dissuade corruption, then we would have achieved a lot. Have you noticed that suddenly, electricity is working? EFCC has come alive? Where have they been all these years? The reason they were not working before was that no one would indict or punish them. I admire ex-President Jonathan so much, but he didn’t have the gut to fight corruption. I will also blame the men of God. I will say the men of God, failed Jonathan. Because Jonathan was operating like somebody under some spell and we (the men of God) had the responsibility of taken him out of the spell, pray with him even for three days and whatever was holding him would have been removed. But we did not do that. Probably, he had the intention of doing the right thing but forces were against him and don’t forget he was not a matured christian. We would have taken him out and probably we would not be in this mess today. On same sex marriage The church should not be shocked about this because they are the part of the end time event. Don’t also be surprised if other strange things follow. I wont be surprised if bestiality is introduced. I will only be shocked if the church gets involved in it. If nations endorse it, nations don’t go by the Bible. They play politics. Parents must talk to their children and let them know that that is not the right thing. On his wife I don’t think I would have been able to achieve what I have achieved if not for the wonderful wife God has given to me. One of the things that is common to those who are called is that they are not only husbands to their wives, they are husbands and fathers to a lot of people. So, if you have a wife that does not understand this fact or that is possessive, she could destroy your work. If everyday we are always fighting at home, with the huge responsibility I have in the church, I don’t know how I would have survived. I thank God for having an understanding wife, as people often come to thank her for something I had done. Again, she has covered a lot of my weaknesses, reaching out to people and places that I was not able to reach out to. She is certainly a huge contributor to the work God has called me. Physical exercise and food I do a little exercise, I don’t do exercise for Olympics. I eat red meat and little carbohydrate. I also swim even though I don’t have a swimming pool in my house. I do that occasionally when I travel. So, it is not about what I eat or how I exercise but the grace of God. And if there is anything I should ask from God more, it is His Grace. CULLED FROM VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Pope Francis Condemns Christian Persecution

Pope Francis, in a letter to the church community on Friday in Jordan, slammed the “atrocious, inhuman and inexplicable” persecution of Christians and minorities, urging the international community not to remain silent. This is contained in a message carried by the Secretary General of the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), Nunzio Galantino, to the ecclesiastical community in Jordan, a country that has taken in a large number of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. “They are the martyrs of today, humiliated and discriminated against for their loyalty to the Gospel.’’ The Pontiff renewed his “solidarity appeal” on behalf “of a Church that does not forget and does not abandon her children exiled on account of their faith. “They know that we raise a daily prayer for them, together with gratitude for the testimony that they offer us.’’ Francis also said his thought goes to the communities that took in these brothers and sisters, not looking the other way He told the Catholics of Jordan “You have announced the resurrection of Christ with the sharing of sorrow and the solidarity that you have provided to the hundreds of thousands of refugees. He said they did this “With your bowing to their suffering, which can stifle hope; and with your fraternal service, which also illuminates such dark moments of existence.’’

RCCG donates $20,000 to renovate Vanuatu State House

The Redeemed Christian Church of God says it has donated $20,000 towards the renovation of the dilapidated State House of the Republic of Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean. The church said in a statement that a temporary residence was being used as the State House after the original was destroyed by Cyclone Uma in 1987. The statement read in part, “Receiving the donation, the Head of State of the Republic of Vanuatu, Baldwin Jackson Lonsdale, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Redeemed Christian Church of God for being one of the very first organisations to respond to the office’s appeal. According to the statement, the recent heavy rainfall experienced in the island has forced the already deteriorated state office to close its doors as appeals were sent to business organisations, donor partners and interested parties to help fund the renovation of the office. It added that the high office confirmed that the money had been deposited at the finance department to ensure that there was accountability and transparency for all the funds coming in towards the renovation project. Lonsdale was quoted as saying that one of the most important priorities that needed urgent attention was the construction of a presidential house. “The conditions of the current presidential residence is deteriorating so much that we have to be accommodated in a rented premises. Our office is being housed in one of the colonial residential premises; and 35 years on since independence, we are still without a presidential palace,” he said. Culled from Punch Newspaper

Canadian pastor held by North Korea

A Canadian pastor who went missing in North Korea is being held by the communist state’s authorities, his church and Canadian consular officials said Thursday. Reverend Hyeon Soo Lim, 60, has not been heard from since January 31, just after he arrived in North Korea via China. The Light Korean Presbyterian Church said his family “received notice from Canadian officials that the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has confirmed that Mr Hyeon Soo Lim is being held in North Korea.” A Canadian government official told AFP that Ottawa is aware of a Canadian citizen detained in North Korea and is trying to help them. But, the official added, Ottawa has no diplomatic relations with North Korea and so “the ability of Canadian officials to provide consular assistance is extremely limited.” Lim went missing while on a humanitarian mission, according to church officials. He had led many aid missions to North Korea in the past involving work with orphanages and nursing homes, they said. Lim’s lack of communication was initially attributed to the 21-day quarantine imposed on all foreign visitors to North Korea to prevent any outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. But that period would have ended on February 21, after which there was still no news, prompting Lim’s church to go public to try to determine his whereabouts. Reverend Chun Ki-Won, the director of Durihana, a South Korean Christian missionary organization helping North Korean refugees, said Lim was one of the most influential Christian missionaries operating in the North. Chun told AFP Lim had been asked to come to Pyongyang on January 31. He said this information came from other members of the close-knit circle of ethnic Korean missionaries in the United States and Canada who are involved in aid projects in the North. The reason for the invitation was unclear, but he said he feared it was political. Chun noted that some of the food-related projects Lim was involved in were linked to associates of Jang Song-Thaek, the purged uncle of leader Kim Jong-Un. Jang is known to have led many joint economic projects before he was dramatically arrested and executed for treason in December 2012. Ottawa advises its citizens against travel to North Korea. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson said, “This (case) underscores what the Canadian government has been saying: ‘Don’t go to North Korea.'” Although religious freedom is enshrined in the North Korean constitution, religious activity is severely restricted to officially-recognized groups linked to the government. Pyongyang views foreign missionaries with deep suspicion, although it allows access to some who undertake humanitarian work. However, anyone caught engaging in any unauthorized activities would be subject to immediate arrest. A number of missionaries — mostly US citizens — have been arrested in North Korea in the past with some of them allowed to return home after interventions by high-profile US figures.

Jerusalem church on Mount Zion torched

Suspected Jewish extremists set fire to a Greek Orthodox seminary building on Mount Zion in Jerusalem early Thursday, 24 hours after a mosque was torched in the West Bank. The vandals torched an annexe of the seminary just outside the walls of the Old City and scrawled “graffiti insulting Jesus”, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said, describing it as a “nationalist” attack. Police said the assailants set light to the toilet and shower block at the seminary, causing damage but no injuries. Outside, they daubed insulting slogans in Hebrew about Jesus. The attack took place just outside the Old City walls on Mount Zion, close to Dormition Abbey, a Roman Catholic institution which was targeted by an arson attack during a visit by Pope Francis last May. Following a police request, a gag order has been imposed on all details of the investigation which will remain in force until March 4. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat condemned the attack as “deplorable” and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice. On Wednesday, a mosque near Bethlehem in the southern West Bank was set alight and anti-Arab slogans in Hebrew sprayed on a nearby wall. Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat denounced the perpetrators of both incidents as “terrorists”, blaming Israel’s government for inciting the attacks by continuing its “illegal occupation and colonisation based on distorted religious claims.” The United Nations has warned such incidents could “inflame an already volatile environment.” Both incidents bore the hallmarks of so-called “price tag” attacks — a euphemism for nationalist-motivated hate crimes by Jewish extremists, which generally target Palestinians or Arab Israelis but have increasingly also hit Christian and Muslim places of worship

Edo CAN Denies Knowledge of N3m Jonathan Largesse to State Chapter

The Edo State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Peter Imasuen, on Monday denied any involvement in the sharing of N7 billion largesse allegedly given to the national leadership of the association by President Goodluck Jonathan in which the state chapter got N3 million. Imasuen, who is also the Bishop of Benin Diocese, Anglican Communion, stated this in Benin City, while reacting to the allegation raised by a Borno-based cleric, Pastor Kallam Musa-Dikwa, that the sum of N3 million, from the largesse, was disbursed to Edo State chairman of the association. Musa-Dikwa, had on February 16 claimed that CAN got the money on January 26, 2015 and distributed N3 million to each state chairman across the country to enable them support the re-election bid of President Jonathan. But Bishop Imasuen told newsmen in Benin City that he was not aware of the money, as he did not attend the last meeting of the Christian body and did collect any money, as a state chairman. “I am not a politician; what we owe the country is prayer. So, I don’t know anything about the money. “They didn’t give me any money and I was not even there when we had the last CAN meeting; at that time, we were having the standing committee at Ughelli (Delta State). So, how would they have given me money when I was not in the meeting?” Asked if he would have benefited from the alleged largesse if he had been present, Imasuen retorted: “Collected the money for what? What will I use the money for? We are men of God; we are to pray for the peace of the country. “At the time you now take money, how will God answer your prayer? I don’t run after riches. I run after blessing; riches come and go but blessings remain.” He noted that he was only interested in performing his responsibility as a cleric, rather than engaging in partisan politics. The cleric also described the allegation as one peddled by persons whom he described as “self-made pastors and bishops” who could say anything to cause disunity. “Even if you give me money, I would be afraid; I will not sleep because the politicians will be after you, everybody will be after you, the thieves will know that you have money. So, I will rather relax my mind and be okay with whatever God gives me. “There are many people who are self-made pastors or bishops; they can say anything. If you do something I don’t like, for instance, I can go back and do certain things to distabilise you. “I don’t belong to any party; once I know that you are a credible person, I can vote for you; vote for those that can stand and defend this country. We are praying God to give us a leader who will lead us and lead the youths,” he added.

Kumuyi tells Nigerians to take their destiny in their hands

Respected cleric and the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Folorunsho Ikumuyiwa, has called on Nigerians to stop bothering themselves about the ongoing challenges facing the nation. He asked them to take their destiny in their hands by seeking God’s face for intervention. Kumuyi gave this charge during a two-day ministerial visit and campus crusade organised by the Campus Christian Mobilisation Committee of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State. The former university don while preaching to thousands of people at the new religious ground of the the OAU, said, “Nigerians should take their destiny in their hands. People should not be discouraged by whatever problems they are facing now, either as individuals or as a nation”. He noted that there were two different kinds of people in the world, saying while some saw themselves as “grasshoppers”, others equally looked themselves as “conquerors”. He said, “There is need to be like the biblical Caleb, who never allowed the towering, scary figure of the giants they saw to dissuade him from entering the land of Canaan. Caleb gave a positive account of what he saw and encouraged others to be optimistic. You are what you think you are.” He prayed for God’s wisdom for members of the university in the discharge of their responsibilities. Also speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Bamitale Omole, commended Kumuyi for accepting the invitation to minister on the campus. He said Kumuyi “is indeed one of the few remaining examples of the ideal Christian faith today”

Sambo using religion to divide Nigerians —APC

The All Progressives Congress has accused Vice-President Namadi Sambo and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, of using religion to divide Nigerians. The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Thursday, said Sambo, while addressing PDP supporters in Kaduna, said the APC was pushing a Christian agenda and should be rejected at the polls because its vice-presidential candidate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), has “5,000 churches.” The APC said, “It must baffle every right-thinking Nigerian what the vice-president stands to gain by his resort to basic instincts. It is more baffling against the background of the fact that it was his party, the PDP, that first labelled our party, the APC, as a Muslim party. “Not even when the APC elected a Christian as its National Chairman, supported by many party officials who are also Christians, did they back off from their incautious claim. It did not occur to them that our party is more religiously diverse than they have sought to portray it to Nigerians.” The party urged voters not to be swayed by those who were using religion as a campaign tool. It said some unscrupulous politicians had already begun distributing leaflets portraying the APC as a religious intolerant party. It said, “They are hoping that by further inflaming passion with the highly emotive issue of religion, they can revive their shrivelling political fortunes. That is why they have devised the latest strategy of pitting Christians against Moslems through the circulation of satanic leaflets. Nigerians should not be taken in by this cheap plot. “We ask Nigerians to disregard anyone peddling religion as a tool for securing votes in any part of the country. Faith is a personal thing to individuals and no responsible government will seek to use religion to divide the people.” Culled From Punch News

CAN got N7bn to campaign for Jonathan –Borno pastor

Fresh facts emerged on Thursday about the allegation by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, that President Goodluck Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party gave some pastors N6bn to campaign against the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in the 2015 presidential election. A Borno State-based Pastor, Kallamu Dikwa, said the money allegedly given to the pastors by the Presidency was N7bn and not N6bn as alleged by Amaechi, who doubled as the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation. Amaechi had alleged that some unnamed leaders of the PDP paid N6bn to Christian clerics to campaign against the APC. But reacting to the Northern States Christian Elders Forum, who challenged Amaechi to name those pastors involved in the bribery scandal, Dikwa told journalists in Kaduna on Thursday that the said money was channelled through the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria. Dikwa, who is the Executive Director of the Voice of Northern Christian Movement, said CAN got the said money (N7bn) on January 26, 2015 and disbursed N3m each to state Chairmen of the CAN across the country. He was also an Associate Pastor with the E. Y. N. Church (Enklesiyan Yan’uwan A Nijeriya) Farm Centre, Dikwa Road, Maiduguri, Borno State, under Rev. Emmanuel Kwajihe between 2002-2004. But the Presidency and CAN had denied this allegation. While the Presidency said that Dikwa was an agent of the APC, the General Secretary of CAN, Rev. Musa Ayake, maintained that the allegation was total falsehood. However, Dikwa, said the CAN had started threatening Christians in the state (Borno) that they must re-elect President Jonathan in the rescheduled election. He said, “It was N7bn that was given to the CAN leadership by President Goodluck Jonathan. They (CAN) later disbursed N3m each to the state chairmen of the CAN. The money was handed over to the CAN leadership on 26th January, 2014. “This is what I know. One of the CAN officials from Abuja told me that they have collected the money. The corruption in CAN is terrible. They are corrupting the body of Christ because of money. “They are now threatening Christians in Borno State that they will deal with anybody who refused to vote for Jonathan. And the CAN officials are now campaigning that if Buhari emerges President he will islamise Nigeria; and that Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will resign soon after Buhari wins to give way for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to emerge Vice President. “And at the same time, CAN is threatening Christians in Borno if they didn’t vote for Jonathan. And the same CAN continues to blackmail Prof. Yemi Osinbajo that Islamic world has bought Osinbajo with millions of dollars, all this is because of the N7bn bribery that they have received from Jonathan.” But Ayake in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Ilorin on Thursday said, “At no time did CAN collect money from Jonathan to preach against Buhari or to give the impression that Buhari wants to islamise Nigeria.” Ayake added, “I do not think I will lower ourselves, our integrity and our positions to somebody who is fake, who called himself a pastor when he is not; a liar, somebody who does not even know his left from his right. I know the person, if I want to comment, I will be lowering myself and my integrity to such a thing. Please that person is not what he claims to be. “What he said is a lie. It did not happen. It will not happen. “He is a liar. We should not waste our time on him. He is not a pastor. He has never been a pastor. He is just a liar. If I should reply, I would be lowering myself. What he said is between him and his God. Let him know that when this life is over, we are going to stand before God to give an account of what we said or did in this life. Let him continue with his lies, God will catch up with him one day.” Also, the Presidency said that Dikwa was making this allegation because he belonged to the APC. It said that was the reason he would continue to say anything that could advance the interest of his political party. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said this in an interview with one of our correspondents. Abati said, “Is the pastor a member of the APC? He probably belongs to the APC. Since he is a member of the APC, he will echo, modify and amplify whatever Amaechi said. “I think before you do anything, you should establish the political affiliation of that pastor. “He must be a member of the APC. Otherwise, he will face his primary responsibility as a pastor. “I have no doubt that the man is a member of the APC. As a member of the APC, he will say whatever he feels will advance the course of his party.” Culled From Punch News

Pastors taking bribes from politicians risk God’s anger – Adeboye

Pastor E. A. Adeboye The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has warned that pastors collecting bribes from politicians risk the wrath of God. The renowned cleric said this on his official Facebook page on Wednesday while reacting to allegations by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, that the Peoples Democratic Party had bribed some pastors with N6bn to work against the All Progressives Congress and its presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) However, Adeboye, said, “I read in the newspaper this morning that one of the serving governors in Nigeria said that some pastors in Nigeria collected N6bn from politicians for the purpose of influencing their members to vote a certain candidate in the coming elections. “May I humbly request that if there be any pastor or pastors who collected such money, they should please return such as quickly as possible before the fire of the Almighty consumes you.” Amaechi, had on Tuesday, told his supporters not to be deceived by pastors, whom he said, were campaigning against Buhari because he was a Muslim He had said, “Some pastors collected N6bn and they are circulating document and telling you not to vote for an Hausa man; not to vote for a Muslim; that they want to Islamise Nigeria. Tell them to return our N6bn. “They gave them N6bn; they should return it to the Federal Government coffers. They will tell you that Buhari wants to Islamise Nigeria; tell them we are too educated. “I am a Catholic, but no Catholic priest has told me that story right now in the Catholic Church because, I will ask him how. If any pastor tells you that, tell him to return the money. “Nobody can Islamise Nigeria; they have commercialised Jesus Christ. They should stop commercialising the Christian faith. You know what Jesus Christ did in the temple? He chased them away.”

Politicians Have Corrupted Christian Leaders-Primat Ayodele

Founder and Spiritual leader of Inri Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele has stated that popular Christian leaders, Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor and Pastor E.A.Adeboye are a disgrace to the church. The prophet who revealed that the recent hobnobbing with politicians by the men of God is a disappointment to the masses. Speaking with Yes Magazine, Primate Ayodele said, “Oyedepo, Oritsejafor and Adeboye have disappointed God. They see the truth but they are not saying it. I will be frank. These frontline pastors; Adeboye, Oyedepo, name them, PFN, CAN have they not disappointed the Nigerian masses now? Jonathan goes to Adeboye, what’s the other man’s name? Politicians have corrupted all church leaders. They are not saying the truth. Adeboye, Oyedepo and other big pastors are not saying the truth. We know that the economy is bad, things are not going right but they should have the courage to face them. For the first time let us be bold enough to tell them “What you are doing is bad”. Tell them, “change from bad to good”. “They say Lagos is moving. What is moving in Lagos? Lagos is just there. Nothing is moving in Lagos. Both APC and PDP have destroyed this country. Pastors who are to talk are part of the corrupt system. Bishops, Primates, Prophets. Everybody is going to answer before God. I am not here to judge any Pastor but I am standing on the altar of truth.”

“Osinbajo Is My Problem”-President Jonathan Cries Out In Secret Meeting With Pentecostal Pastors In Abuja

Ruffled by the momentum generated by the nomination of Pastor Yemi Osinbajo as General Mohamadu Buhari's running mate, President Goodluck Jonathan is asking a group of Pentecostal pastors to help him avert what he fears could be an impending loss in next month's presidential polls. Bishop David Oyedepo led the Pentecostal pastors to the meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan State House Photo
Osinbajo, a prominent cleric with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN emerged APC's presidential running mate last month giving President Jonathan and the ruling party, PDP, what is being described as sleepless nights, by sources.
Specifically last Thursday, the President held a meeting in Abuja, with a number of Pentecostal pastors led by Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel, with the main agenda being how to fashion out ways to solve the "Osinbajo" problem.
Sources at the meeting confirmed that President Jonathan confessed in a rather rattled and humbling manner that "Osinbajo is my problem."
According to those at the meeting, the President added that "everything was okay until APC picked Osinbajo."
This is coming against the background of wild speculations that APC is an Islamist party and that General Buhari is a religious fundamentalist-which has become one of the main planks of the PDP presidential campaign. While PDP chieftains and supporters have continued to characterize APC as an Islamist party, APC leaders have consistently dismissed such as unfounded, baseless and a scare tactic by the PDP.
Many observers say the nomination of a prominent Pentecostal pastor from the fastest growing church in Africa by the APC may have effectively doused such speculations and the attempt to label the party as one with an islamization agenda.
There has been a rather conscious attempt to make next month's presidential polls a religious one especially in the Southern part of the country where there is a much larger Christian population, observers say.


At the meeting organized by the Executive Secretary of the National Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) John Kennedy Okpara, President Jonathan poured out his mind that running against a leading Pastor of the RCCG, who is also known to be very close to the much reverred General Overseer of the church, Pastor E.A. Adeboye, is an uphill task.
Sources at the meeting, said Jonathan was ruffled and much distracted as he confessed to the challenge to him, of the APC naming such a person as Osinbajo as General Buhari's running mate.
In response, the Pastors led by Bishop Oyedepo assured the President at the meeting that they would, "starting from today," use every device possible including social media, the pulpit and influence peddling, to campaign in support of President Jonathan and against the Buhari-Osinbajo ticket.
Before the meeting with the President, sources said the pastors held a meeting on the same day to strategize and agree on how and what they would present  to the president.
At that pre-meeting, some Pentecostal pastors suggested that they use the opportunity of the meeting afforded by the President to express their genuine fears on growing insecurity in the North with Boko Haram killing and attacking Christians and other innocent Nigerians.
But Bishop David Oyedepo, the most influential pastor at the meeting interrupted the idea, insisting that the meeting was to encourage and strengthen President Jonathan ahead of the elections and not to discuss compelling national issues of concern to majority of Nigerians.
While some of the pastors were shocked and disappointed that Bishop Oyedepo would not allow them to raise important issues bothering most Nigerians, they decided to keep silent not to be seen as spoilsports.
And later after meeting the president, the pastors gathered together again on the same day to device strategies they will use to campaign against Buhari/Osinbajo, with the main scheme being to label the ticket as an Islamist one.
Some of the pastors also suggested that they can influence Christians that the position of Vice President is not an effective one, and that having a Christian hold it makes no difference, although the Nigerian constitution and the order of precedence makes the office the next in rank to the president.
Indeed as if carrying out the resolve, members of the Winners Chapel said Bishop Oyedepo has already started using the pulpit to achieve the goals set out at last Thursday meeting in Abuja.
Some of the members said yesterday Sunday January 18, Bishop Oyedepo raised a prayer point that an Islamist would not become the President of Nigeria in the polls coming next month to the chagrin of many of the church attendants on Sunday.
Culled from Empowered Newswire

Any Man Who Says He Has One Wife Is Deceiving Himself, Says Oba of Lagos

Oba Rilwan Babatunde Osuolale Aremu Akiolu 1

There’s quite a lot to learn about men and their love for women from Oba Rilwan Babatunde Osuolale Aremu Akiolu 1, also known as the Eleko of Eko.

Oba Rilwan who was the Assistant Inspector General of Police before he retired in 2002, was crowned King of Lagos on May 23, 2003.

In a new interview with Sunday Sun, the Oba who met his first wife 50 years ago explained in details why no man sticks with one woman.

“You see, there is no handsome, rich, young man who does not like women. That a man likes a woman is different from a man who cannot do without women. When you see a man who cannot do without women, he can sleep with anyone. His sister, maid, his son’s wife, daughter, colleague, niece, any woman.
Any man who says he has one wife is deceiving himself. All those who say they have one wife have mistresses outside. I am going to be 72 now and I cherish beautiful women and nobody can stop me. I like women and I can’t do without women are two different things.
That time, I was a policeman. She came for sports. She is the daughter of the late Sir Olateru Olagbegi and was very jealous. I told her what’s wrong with you, your father married 40 wives. The man was a fantastic man. I liked him.
I have many women friends now. I can marry more wives now. There’s nothing they can do. If I ask them and they go with me, good. If not, good luck.

He also claims he doesn’t have a favorite wife or child.

“All of them make me happy because they know I am a no-nonsense man and nobody can predict what I will do. They call me Aseyiwu Eledumare and I say I am not Eledumare. Even among my children, I have no favorite. If you have a son who makes you happy, why will you not like him? The child who does not make you happy, pray to God and try to correct him. You see, I have no friend, I have no enemy. That’s what I was doing with my son Tinubu. You see Tinubu and Fashola are special blessings to Lagos. All the people who contested are all my children.” 

Open Letter To Bishop David Oyedepo, The Gatekeeper Of Hell

Dissecting Bishop Oyedepo's support for GEJ and Sambo's anti-christ outburst against churches and Pastor(Prof.) Osinbajo at the Jigawa State PDP Presidential rally.

I was shocked when a man of God, Bishop David Oyedepo who I respect so much said in his church some days ago that his members should slaughter any one that looks like a terrorist. The key word there is "anyone that looks like." While I am 100% in support of self defense, I abhor tribal profiling and targeting. When this happens, innocent lives are bound to be lost. Then in the 3rd service of his Church on Sunday, January 25, 2015, attended by President Jonathan, my dear Bishop Oyedepo said in a comment directed at President Jonathan “We will open the gates of hell on those who oppose you.When God enthrones you no one can dethrone you”



My Bishop's support of Jonathan is anchored on the false premise that Buhari is planning to Islamize Nigeria. Nothing could be further from the truth. IBB not Buhari registered Nigeria as a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). IBB, Abacha and Abdusalami Abubakar attended OIC meetings. No President of Nigeria has attended OIC meetings in the last 15 years until President Jonathan attended an OIC meeting in late 2014. Buhari never attended any OIC meeting and refused to join the OIC even though he was a military Head of State possessing immense powers. How can the same Buhari now Islamize Nigeria in a democratic setting which has the checks and balances of the National Assembly and the Judiciary?

Is my Bishop aware of what happened a few days ago? At the Presidential campaign rally of GEJ/Sambo in Jigawa state on January 21st, 2015, in the presence of President Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo stated in Hausa :

"Buhari ya dauko pastor a matsayin mataimakinsa kunsan coci nawa yake dashi? Yanada coci 5000, don haka karku zabesu. The translation is - "Buhari has selected a pastor as his running mate, do you know how many churches he has? He has 5000 churches, so based on that, don't vote for them".

My Bishop, Sambo used religious sentiments in his attempt to divide the country and incite Muslims against Christians. Sambo also said at the rally that the PDP is the most Islamic Party in Nigeria because nobody can be more Muslim than him. He said that his name is Namadi which is a derivative of Namadina, meaning someone from the Medina in Saudi Arabia. At the Rally in Jigawa State Sambo also stated that he goes for the Hajj every year.

My dear Bishop, in Sambo's determination to whip up religious sentiments and divisions, he stated at the Jigawa state rally that all the security chiefs in the Jonathan administration are Muslims and based on that, those alleging that Jonathan is supportive of Boko Haram are not being fair. He mentioned the names of some key ministers in the Jonathan administration including Defence Minister, Aliyu Gusau, NSA, Sambo Dasuki, Inspector General of Police, Abba whom he emphasized are all Muslims. He also mentioned all the Muslim ministers from Kano, including Aminu Wali, Foreign Affairs Minister and Shekarau, Minister of Education.

Bishop, Sambo then asked if anyone could claim to be more Muslim than him Namadi Sambo. Then he shouted Allahu Akbar (Allah is great several times). To close his speech he recited the AlFatiha, (The Opening, the first seven verses of the Holy Quran, which for Muslims is the Mother of the Book, highly revered by all).

My dear Bishop, Sambo's outburst against Christians and Pastor Osinbajo would not surprise close watchers of political events in Nigeria but it does reconfirm the outcome of late General Azazi thorough and extensive investigation of Boko Haram and in which he concluded that the PDP founded Boko Haram and finances its terrorist activities.

MY ADVISE TO CHRISTIANS WHO RESPECT BISHOP OYEDEPO
To Christians like me who hold Bishop Oyedepo in great esteem this is my advise to you;

Don't let any pastor tell you who to vote for. Does Bishop Oyedepo experience the effects of misgovernance? Bishop is on 24-hr power generators and he does not even know when there is power outage. You bear the brunt of misgovernance daily and you should know that voting GEJ is a guarantee of another 4 years of no electricity, corruption galore and insurgency that will claim more lives and disintegrate Nigeria. Vote based on what you know not on religious or tribal sentiments!

Currently, 70% of the territory of states like Borno, Yobe and Adamawa are under the firm control of Boko Haram. This is the first time this is happening in Nigeria. Boko Haram bombing and genocide has targeted both Christians and Muslims, churches, mosques and schools attended by both Christians and Muslims. Because of Boko Haram's control of about 5% of Nigeria's territory, Nigeria's map has been redrawn.

When a bomb goes off in a market place it does not discriminate between Muslims and Christians. When the village of the Chief of Defense staff close to Mubi was attacked he did not rescue his fellow christian villagers but he airlifted his relatives out of danger and leaving his fellow Christians to be slaughtered by Boko Haram. The "polithievians," "executhieves," "legislooters" and "judishare" officers of Nigeria have only one religion that unites them and that religion is stealing and looting with impunity.

How many of the Pastors that are telling you to vote for Jonathan have children who are unemployed graduates sitting at home; bear the brunt of insecurity; send their children to public school; patronize government hospitals like you do or understand what the members of their religious organizations go through on a daily basis?

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out when ASUU and ASUP were on strike twice in 4 years thereby leading to the loss of almost 2 years in the academic calender of Universities and Polytechnics?

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out to condemn the manner in which the almost 300 Chibok girls were kidnapped? Did he condemn the manner in which the President refused to acknowledge that they were kidnapped? Did Bishop Oyedepo condemn the failure of the President to rescue the Chibok girls 9 months after they were kidnapped by the insurgents?

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out when medical doctors went on strike twice in 4 years leading to the death of millions of Nigerians.

Has Bishop Oyedepo spoken out against the ongoing strike by health workers and judicial workers in Nigeria?

All these strikes have to do with the inability of President Jonathan and the PDP government to abide by industrial agreements signed after extensive bargaining among stake holders and their insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians.

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out when 16>19, 5>26 and 7>19 in the Governors Forum election, Rivers state house of Assembly and Ekiti State House of Assembly in clear and reckless violation of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria?

Has Bishop Oyedepo spoken out to condemn the legalized looting of billions of dollars of Nigeria's money taking place under the watch of President Jonathan? Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out to condemn the beating up of a state High Court judge in Ekiti state by the Chief Thug of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose and his gang of thugs?

Did Bishop Oyedepo speak out to condemn the deliberate flouting of court orders by President Jonathan which has become like a recurring decimal in his administration?

Let Pastors like Bishop Oyedepo who don't know what their members are going through or who are unable to feel the pulse of the masses, stick to what they know how to do best which is feeding Chist's sheep as Christ commanded them, but let them stay out of politics. Bishop Oyedepo should not try to influence Christians to vote for a failed President like Jonathan. I urge all Christians to vote their conscience to free themselves from the 16 year bondage of the PDP led administration.

Section 95 (3) of the Electoral Act, states that “places designated for religious worship, police station and public offices shall not be used for political campaigns, rallies and processions or to promote, propagate or attack political parties, candidates, their political ideologies or programmes.”

Let my darling Bishop note that his actions on the pulpit violates this law and as a man of God the scripture expects him to obey the laws of the land. We are to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.
By Bunmi Awoyemi

 

'He never asked God to open ‘hell gate’ - Winners Chapel denies allegation against Oyedepo

The Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners Chapel, on Sunday dismissed reports that its founder, Bishop David Oyedepo, vowed to unleash the gate of hell on anybody who opposed the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan.
 Jonathan visited the headquarters of the church in Ota, Ogun State on Sunday, January 25.

Shortly after the visit, there were reports that Oyedepo allegedly declared a public support for the President.

In a statement by the Resident Pastor of the church, Pastor Ubong Ntia, the church said the reports “were far from the truth.”



The church said those spreading the rumour should have obtained the video clip of the service and verified the claim.

“There was nowhere, nor was there any time the following prayer or words were uttered by the Church or the Bishop: ‘I will open the gates of hell to anyone who opposes you’, or ‘I will open the gates of hell to anyone who opposes the peace of this nation’,” the statement read.

The church said the rumours were intended to cause mischief and to dent the image of Oyedepo and as well as create confusion in the country.

It also said Oyedepo did not call the President to the altar for any special deliverance.

“President Jonathan along with his entourage, like the rest of the congregation, was upstanding, and prayers were made for him and all those in authority, and the nation,” the statement added.

Recounting the visit, the church said, “The President and his entourage arrived at Canaan Land (Faith Tabernacle) for the third service at about 9. 30am. He and his team were ushered in and asked to occupy the front seats alongside the resident pastor and other senior pastors. Thereafter, in honour of the President, Bishop Oyedepo invited Jonathan to ‘bring a word of greeting’ to the congregation.

“President Jonathan spent approximately six minutes in his address, clearly stating that he would be careful not to sound political so that his visit and intentions would not be construed as electioneering campaign.

“In his brief speech, he adulated the ministry and person of bishop for the mighty works of faith, prayer for Nigeria and educational milestones the Living Faith Church has engendered for national development. He then expressed his belief that the elections of 2015 would go peacefully, while also asking for the people of God to pray more.”

The church said contrary to insinuations that the visit was meant to canvass votes from the church, the President visited “in his capacity as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Our church of over 33 years has been a sanctuary for all people with no prejudice to colour, ethnicity and political persuasion. We stand for righteousness and cherish our integrity.”

 

Jonathan, Obasanjo, Adeboye, Oyedepo meet in Abeokuta

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan eventually  met on Monday evening at Obasanjo’s mansion on Presidential Hilltop Estate, Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.

 Sources close to the Obasanjo home said the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and founder of Winners’ Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, were at the meeting at the instance of the former President as one of conditions given by Obasanjo before any meeting with Jonathan could take place .

It was learnt that the men of God were called to be witnesses of what would transpire between Jonathan and his benefactor, Obasanjo, during the meeting after the terms of the outcome of previous series of discussions between the two were allegedly not followed by the President.

It was further learnt that Obasanjo would use the avenue to ask Jonathan salient questions to the hearing of Adeboye and Oyedepo bordering on security situation of the country, his loyalists who were weeded out of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) as well as the matter concerning the South West Organising Mobilisation Committee Chairman of PDP, Prince Buruji Kashamu, whom the former President said can’t be his leader.


As of 10.19pm, there was no official comment on the outcome of the meeting.

Earlier, the social media had been awash with reports that Obasanjo, who stayed away from the Peoples Democratic Party presidential campaign at the MKO International Stadium in Abeokuta , shunned Jonathan.

Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party leaders were in the Ogun State capital to seek support for the President’s re-election bid.

The former President had made a surprise appearance at the wedding of Jonathan daughter on Saturday, thus raising hopes that their sour relationship was over.

Obasanjo, our correspondent gathered,, had left Hilltop at 2.59pm and did not return till Jonathan and his entourage retreated to the Presidential Lodge in the city around 5.30pm, after their campaign.

The President arrived at the stadium at exactly 3. 50pm and had headed straight for the state box from where he later moved out to acknowledge cheers from the crowd .

Operatives of the Department of State Security, who had earlier besieged the Hilltop as early as 6am in anticipation of Jonathan’s arrival left the place at exactly 3.36pm.

Their departure fuelled the reports that Obasanjo was not willing to receive the President. Before then, Vice- President Namadi Sambo, who was also in Abeokuta visited the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, in his palace at Ake, without going to the former President’s home.

While addressing party supporters at the stadium, Jonathan said his administration would create eight million jobs if re-elected.

Giving the breakdown of how he would this, he said that at least two million jobs would be created each year in collaboration with the private sector.

He said, “We are out to create jobs. Our target is to create at least two million jobs every year. We are working with the private sector, including Tony Elumelu. When you hear Elumelu, you know we are talking about a serious investor.”

Jonathan, who noted that Ogun State had produced great Nigerian leaders like the late Obafemi Awolowo, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and MKO Abiola, said through his government’s vibrant industrial policy, about 56 industries had been attracted to Ogun State.

He also stated that his administration would embark on the construction of silos and other produce storage facilities across the country, including Ogun state, to enhance storage and preservation of agric produce.

The Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, had said that the PDP had been able to reduce annual expenses on food imports from N1.1tn to N697bn through a vibrant agricultural programme.

Bishop Oyedepo Says he will 'open the gate of hell on those who oppose the President.

President  Goodluck Jonathan was a guest at the Winners Chapel in Ota Ogun state today and according to people who who attended the service, they claim Pastor Oyedepo said he will 'open the gate of hell on those who oppose the President.  Oyedepo during the service declared his unflinching support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid.

Oyedepo reportedly also said: “I pray that God will grant President Jonathan the unusual grace to meet the demands of his office.”

Oyedepo and Jonathan

Jonathan on his part addressed the congregation saying: “I don’t want to talk much before I am accused of coming to Church to campaign for election. I plead with you all to keep praying for successful and peaceful election next month.”

“There are various predictions concerning the election, but I trust God to take control of the situation. I commend Bishop Oyedepo for his commitment to the work of God and education, without education we can’t achieve much,” he added.

Oyedepo is one of the clerics supporting the President and has accompanied him on pilgrimage to Israel. He also reportedly witnessed a meeting between former President, Olusegun Obasanjo and Jonathan, along with the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Enoch Adeboye.

 

Did Bishop Oyedepo say this?

Did pastor Oyedepo really say this?

President Jonathan was a guest at Winners Chapel in Ota Ogun state today and according to people who were there, they claim Pastor Oyedepo said he will 'open the gate of hell on those who oppose the President. Did he really say this?

Pope Francis and his late friend,Bishop Tony Palmer

Pope Francis: The Pope of the world

Cardinal Onaiyekan Comdemns On Buhari Over Certificate, Health

John Cardinal Onaiyekan is the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese. In this exclusive interview,
 the former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) bared his mind on a variety of burning national issues, including his thoughts on the build-up to this year’s general elections. The countdown to this year’s general elections has commenced in earnest with the major political parties intensifying their electioneering campaigns. What are your thoughts on the build-up to the elections? One would have said that by now we should have gotten our acts together and be able to conduct democratic elections as a routine process in our political history, just as it is in most developed and civilized nations. But I am afraid that, unfortunately, even as we approach the next general elections, there is general air of fear and anxiety in the atmosphere; expressed by the fact that many people are moving their families to where they consider safe havens. Many Nigerians are sending their families back home to their villages, especially southerners living in the far north. They are relocating back home. This is internal movement and I have been told that other Nigerians at the top level are also sending their families abroad until the elections are over. Some of them are even top level people within the political environment and I think we cannot deny that this is happening. The only thing we can also affirm is that the vast majority of Nigerians are not running away; they have nowhere to run to. This means most of us will all be here in our respective places of domicile and this is a question that concerns all of us, whether this election would be free, fair and non-violent. That does not only depend on the politicians or government alone, but also on all of us. What I have been preaching all along is for our people, the ordinary Nigerians to reject violence, refuse to be intimidated, stand their ground and perform their civic duty and not to allow anyone to disorganize their mind. Even then I also still believe that it is the responsibility of government to conduct elections. But the way our government has always been, the institutions of government that should ensure impartial, independent electioneering have often found it difficult to remain totally neutral in relation to the contending parties. I think we need to admit that it is difficult because by the very nature of things, by the way the INEC is constituted and by extension the kind of control from the government, which makes the ruling party have control over national security agencies, namely the police, army SSS. Because of that the tendency has always been for the government in power to enjoy undue advantage over the others. As you know, Nigerians can rightly refer to the weight of incumbency; the idea being that it is difficult to dislodge the government in power, almost as if it is only a stupid government in power that allows it to be defeated. The question is, is this changing? Mr. President has repeatedly vowed and avowed that he will do everything in his power to ensure a free, fair and non-violent election. He also facilitated the famous meeting of all the political parties; particularly the leading presidential candidates on ground, at which meeting they signed an accord to ensure the election is free, fair and nonviolent. For me that is good news although I am aware there are people who are skeptical. I remember speaking here in my hall with a very prominent opposition politician who said it is a mere ritual that they perform during every election. I can’t remember it happening in previous elections and even if it did, it did not get the attention that this one attracted. Therefore, the message it sent at that level so far is very encouraging that we may indeed have a free and fair election devoid of violence. But that cannot happen only because you signed a piece of paper and I think the government who is largely responsible must take actions that speak louder than words such that the opposition is given a sense of confidence that yes what we signed will be properly implemented. I really believe that the government in power has to do that and Mr. President, having given his word of honour solemnly, he should do his best. This means he may have people around him who don’t believe in the pact or who are already planning strategies. He should find a way of eliminating them from the system and allow the process to go. There is no doubt that there is a link between the quality of the election and the possibility of post-election violence. Generally, as you have seen post-election violence is often an expression of disappointment or even anger at election results that are perceived to be not in line with the reality of the votes cast. It means that INEC must go out of its way to be clearly non- partisan and independent; it should be independent as its name says and seen to be independent. The security agents should be for the security of all of us; to protect all political parties without bias. Talking about the peace pact are you satisfied with the conduct of the two major parties in their presidential electioneering campaigns so far, in terms of the language and messages they are passing across? We still have to come back to the point I earlier made that President Jonathan and General Buhari embraced each other warmly with big smiles and that photograph has gone viral. I would like to believe that those smiles were sincere; but they should also realize that there may be others on both sides who may not share the same sentiments. This is where each of them must demonstrate true leadership to be able to bring in their members to the extent that such smiles, embrace and spirit that we saw on that photograph would be reflected in the conduct of the campaigns. It is not surprising that some persons, here or there, with misguided enthusiasm, may see things and carry out certain acts that are anything but civil. But what we do expect is that when that happens they would be called to order. It boils down to not using foul language and addressing issues. I wouldn’t say we should avoid addressing personalities because personalities are important; we have to address both. Personalities in the sense that, this guy has the qualities to rule or lacks the qualities to do so. But even when you are discussing personalities during campaigns it should not be insults. It is allowed for politicians to assess the past performance of their opponents as a way to indicate how much they fit power or not and this can be done without insults. It is up to the electorate who are listening to them to weigh the weight of the argument one way or the other and to decide who to vote for. What is your personal take on the performance of the current PDP led administration in terms of security, fighting corruption and managing the economy? Let me say that before the build up to the elections we have been talking, it is not to be unexpected that whatever problem that is on ground we put the responsibility on the government in power; they are the ones who have asked to be our rulers, therefore, if we go into serious issues like that of corruption we must be the ones to say much has been left undone. Even the government itself admits, though they may give excuses like, for example, saying that every nation is saddled with corruption. They might even say we have set up EFCC, ICPC and so on, but the question is there are too many people who are getting away with corrupt behaviour and there is no point asking me to bring proof of accusation of corruption. There are agencies that should be able to track how people acquire wealth and how far such wealth can be justified on the basis of their income. It is the job of government agencies to do that, there are obviously a lot of people who have acquired wealth that it is not too difficult to explain how they came about such wealth. Take the area of security; the Latin people have a proverb which says “you don’t argue with a fact before you.” For example, that you came to my house today at 5.15pm is a fact that we cannot argue over. In the same way it is obvious that there is insecurity in the land, what is even obvious is that there has been a trend of growing insecurity in respect of Boko Haram. I don’t know whether there is less insecurity in other areas, like kidnapping and armed robbery, or is it that Boko Haram has completely taken our attention. But I am told that kidnapping has not even been arrested, it is still going on. In fact, somebody phoned me last night that her brother was kidnapped in Gboko of all places, which means whatever efforts the government is making to ensure that all of us are safe, those efforts have not achieved adequate success. The first responsibility of every government is to ensure the security of lives and property of citizens. In a situation like elections, you cannot say since this government has not done XYZ then I am going to the other person or you say this government has not done XYZ but we have no confidence in this new person. The opposition does not have to prove how much they have done because they have not been in power. This is why in developed democracies, incumbency is always a liability in elections and generally the opposition is at an advantage because they can always put the blame of everything on the ruling party and claim that if you put them there you will see wonders. This is why in Europe and America you seen this ding-dong going on and I think there is something good about that. If you go try your best and people would say let us try some other persons and the next people would come and do their best and by the end of the day the whole society is much better. Therein lies the strength of democracy; you can always change your mind and you can always bring people back. Why I am going through this is that at this point there is no reason asking me whether Jonathan has performed well enough because that is going to be the major question for the election and I don’t want to pre-empt that. You earlier expressed concern about reports about people moving away from the north and vice versa. Are you particularly afraid? I am living in Abuja and if I am not particularly afraid, it is not because there is no reason to worry. It is simply that my own emotional make up, especially with regards to the Nigeria project, is such that I am very optimistic. You are here in my house; did you see any policeman or soldier? But there are people who cannot do without them because they are always afraid. I go around freely without carrying a platoon of soldiers to protect me and there are people who are telling me that I am being very naïve. Some people have noted that my jeep is clearly inscribed with Cardinal Archbishop of Abuja and they say look, you are advertising yourself for attack. I have been advertising myself for the past many years and no attack has come. Instead I have made myself liable to be recognized and treated very well. Therefore, you have to weigh the consequences and make up your mind. Personally, I have a strong conviction that we will get over it. That is why I always encourage that we, in the churches, should keep talking to our people to resist violence. Let election campaigns be done with conviviality, we are not enemies. What roles should religious leaders play in times like this? Are they living up to such roles in Nigeria, given our current situation? In Nigeria today who is a religious leader? So many people claim to be religious leaders and there are many religious leaders who are politicians and who carry on mixing their religion and politics. It is something you cannot really avoid and that makes your question difficult. I can only talk for myself. Fortunately, I belong to a church which has rules that we who are clergy abide by. Those of us who have chosen to be clergy cannot be part of any partisan organization. I can’t be a card carrying, advertising member of one party. That doesn’t mean that I do not have an obligation to vote, but I cannot go up to the pulpit and say vote for X or vote for Y; that is what my church says. But you know there are other churches which don’t have such rules where reverends are themselves strong members of political parties and right now we have it in our hands. So when you then talk about religious leaders, the question becomes difficult. We hear that the vice presidential candidate of the APC is a pastor in a particular church. Do you describe him as a religious leader? I don’t know! But he is definitely a politician and there are many like him. In our church, if you are so disgusted with the system and you want to go into the battle of politics and engage in the political battle so as to capture power to rule, then you have to suspend your membership of the clergy for the simple reason that the church cannot be seen to be partisan. In my church, we have members who belong to APC, PDP and other political parties and I have to have a message that appeals to all of them. Talking about your church (I believe you are referring to the Catholic Church), one of your reverends, Emmanuel Mbaka, recently came under criticisms for his sermon against President Jonathan’s government and you were one of those that criticized him. Why? I am happy with this opportunity to balance the report that emanated from an interview I had with one of your colleagues. Assessing the performance of the government is what we do regularly and the reverend father in question was well in order to point out, especially the gap between declarations and real achievements. It is part of our duty to denounce deception and lies and to that extent I have no problem because I have been doing that myself. But when it reached a stage where he says you have to vote for X and not for Y he has crossed the boundary; he should have left those who were listening to him to make up their minds on that because they have every right to freedom of choice and not to be pressurized with spiritual power to go one way rather than the other. Of course, it is not every Reverend Father that is like the one you are talking about because in every group there are always those who are on their own. So has he been punished or sanctioned for violating the rules of the Catholic Church? I was reported to have said if he were a priest in my diocese I would sanction him, but I would not deny that. But the question is what do I mean by sanction? Sanction may not necessarily mean punishment; it may not be more than calling him for a discussion to point out to him that what he has done is not in order. That is already a sanction. Has he been punished? I don’t know because that is up to his bishop. Given the concerns you earlier raised over the forthcoming election, do you foresee a situation whereby there would be another post-election violence? The only thing I foresee is that our next president would either be Jonathan or Buhari; that is all. We are hoping that the conduct of the election would be so transparent that there will be no much room for quarrel when the result is announced. I think even the mechanism for our election, despite the inadequacies here and there, has been done in such a way that we can really transparently follow the movement of our votes. From what I understand, the votes are all counted at the polling booths, which are not secret locations. They are open and at each of them there are the agents of the political parties. Even those of us that are ordinary people have the right to stand around and ensure that things are done well. There should be no difficulty in counting votes. There should be no difficulty in collating votes in these days of advanced technology. Our Catholic Church was involved in election monitoring and we gave all our boys and girls cell phones, and from each polling booths, they were sending us the results as they were being announced. Somewhere along the line, we went into trouble because the result that was announced from the collating centers did not tally with what we independently collated. We have specific cases where our collations were used in election petitions and we succeeded in getting the elections overturned because it was clear that someone out there decided not to do the right thing. And this is what we have been saying, namely that if everybody involved with the electoral process is aware that this is a matter that is very important for Nigeria; that we cannot afford to leave ourselves in a situation of anger, frustration; that our votes have been badly handled, then they would do the right thing-transparently. And if it is clear that I didn’t win the election, there is no need to resort to violence. What is not good is to play monkey games, ballot box stuffing/snatching and at the end come up with a result. At the end of the day, you expect those who are declared losers to accept such results? They can’t accept it because it is not feasible. Sometimes the contestants may agree with the bad process, but their followers may not agree and they have every right to protest because at the end of the day it is their votes that are being rubbished. Should religion be a factor in deciding on choices during elections in Nigeria? A whole lot of things go into your choice of whom to vote for and what to vote for. Everybody has his or her own convictions and interests. There are people whom the most important factor in election is what religion the contestant belongs to. I have heard people telling me I will never vote for a Muslim and they are entitled to that position and there are those who say they won’t vote for a Christian. But if you ask me I would say you are wrong if you say you are a Christian and won’t vote for a Muslim. Supposing you have a rogue as a Christian candidate and a very good Muslim as a candidate, can you still say the same thing? Someone would say yes, but they have every right to their choices. But if you ask me I will say that our job as religious leaders should be to constantly tell people to vote according to their conscience and the person who would do a better job. Of course, who would do a better job depends on how you see it. There is also the other question of ethnic identity. Some people would say no matter what I will cast my vote for the man from my area. I am from Kogi State, which is very mixed with regards to tribes. The Igala is largely on the east and some of us Yoruba, Egbira and others. Every effort you make there it is difficult to remove ethnic politics. The Igala group is in the majority and every politician knows that once he gets the Igala people around him, then he has won the election. I hear the same thing is happening in Benue State between the Tiv and Idoma and what can you do about that? Politics is a game of number and once people have made up their minds to vote it is their right to do so, whether it is the right thing to do is another matter. But if you continue voting like that you are likely not to be getting the right candidates, because it is not likely that the person from your tribe is the best. Are you interested in the good candidate; the best person who will do the best job? That is the irony that makes elections difficult in Nigeria. One of the presidential candidates recently went into a church, thereby drawing comments from many people. What is your take on that? The fact that a Muslim candidate went to a church, there is nothing against that. In my own church I have received many Muslims for various reasons: weddings, funerals, thanksgiving services where you come with your friends including Muslims. So, that a Muslim visited the church there is no problem about that. The problem will only arise over what role he is given to play, otherwise there might be no difference between him and a Christian politician. If a Christian politician begins to campaign in the church, he is certainly wrong because the church is not a campaign podium. For the same reason, if a Muslim comes to Church to start campaigning it is wrong. You may say that his very presence there is interpreted to be campaign, but I am afraid that interpretation is uncalled for. Don’t forget that whoever will be our president would be the president of all Nigerians and he is going to be either Christian or Muslim. If my president is a Muslim I will be more comfortable if he is the kind of Muslim who has no difficulty coming to my church. But if I have a Muslim president who is so fanatical to the extent of not being able to stand the Christian faith and cannot enter the church, then there would be problems. Christians, also, go to the mosque when they are invited; you don’t pray with them, you just go there as a sign of solidarity. I can imagine that this politician you are talking about was brought to the church by his friend who happens to be a member of that church. With barely three weeks before the elections there are fears in the North-East where insurgency persists with many of the people there now living elsewhere as IDPs. This has made others to call for the suspension of elections in those states. What is your take? Let me tell you frankly I really do not know what to say. This is a serious problem! It is like whichever way you go you are wrong. Some people have canvassed the idea that we postpone the election until there is calm in the North-East, but as you know postponing election means prolonging tenure, so it is untouchable because a new government is expected to takeover on May 29, with a new president. To that extent, there is no way of postponing election. Even though Mr. President told them in Maiduguri the other day that all the IDPs will soon return to their homes, I think you would need a miracle for that to happen that soon. From the time he made that statement I have not seen any action on ground to give even the IDPs the confidence that they would soon go back to their homes for the election. Now, that it is obvious that first of all you cannot set up polling booths or polling stations in those areas because when you say a place is under Boko Haram insurgency it doesn’t necessarily mean their soldiers are stationed all over the place. No. They can launch attacks from anywhere, so the place is not safe and which means you cannot conduct election in that whole zone. That is not the only problem. They said arrangements would be made for IDPs who are in camps within their own states to vote and I think and hope they would go further on that arrangement for the simple reason that the vast majority of IDPs are not in camps. We have heard that not more than 10 per cent of them are in camps and to say that because you are not registered in camps you cannot vote is tantamount to deliberately disenfranchising the IDPs. I believe INEC should still put its thinking hat on, go back to the drawing board and open the space as much as possible to permit as many as possible for IDPs to vote. Are you confident that INEC would deliver in these elections, especially with the problems associated with PVC distribution? Was it last week or so that a governor , at a rally, was encouraging the people to please go and collect their PVCs. INEC said there were millions of PVCs that were waiting to be collected, but I am seeing the problem from the other hand. I am not putting the blame on these people who have not collected their PVCs, but I am putting the blame on INEC who has made it rather difficult for them to be collected. There should be a way of making the PVCs easily accessible and it is up to INEC and I put the blame on them. If you have a situation whereby you have hundreds of thousands of PVCs uncollected, it means that those uncollected PVCs can be put to sinister use on the day of election. The sooner we get done with our national ID cards the better, because most countries that is what they use for elections and in those countries every citizen has an ID card. What do you make of the controversy generated over the certificate of the APC presidential candidate? To me, this is an uncivilized attitude towards the election. As you know this whole story of certificate is being blown up as part of electioneering campaign. If you ask me I would say what has secondary school certificate got to do with whether either of the two candidates can rule the nation, especially when you are talking about somebody who has ruled the nation before and had reached the level of a General in the Army? Are we saying that he has not got the level of education of a secondary school? Those who say so are simply looking for reasons to score political points. It is just like the story about the condition of his health which is very sad. I am 71 years of age and all of us at this age have something in us; one form of terminal disease or the other, which is normal at that age. The Bible says the sum of our years is 70 and when I marked my 70th birthday, I went to my doctor and told him that I have reached the sum of my years and I am expecting death anytime so he should please help me find out which disease can kill me so that I can prepare. This is normal that anybody at 70 and above has something, but the election law does not say you must bring out all your medical records; everybody keep their medical records. We have even seen sick presidents who have performed very well; we have even seen blind presidents who have performed very well in their countries, so let us be very serious. I am very sorry that these issues are being raised. Those who are raising these issues are the ones dragging the level of political discourse to the mud and they are getting on our nerves.