Nigerian Gospel Singers Jahdiel ,Eben To Tie The Nuptial Knot Nov.30

By November 30, Eben and Jahdiel won’t only be sharing the title ‘Gospel Music artiste’, but also the same surname, as both artistes will be getting married in Lagos, Nigeria. Eben and Jahdiel who have been rumoured to be dating for a long while now, would finally bring to rest the rumors by tying the knot. The wedding ceremony is scheduled to take place at D.G.M, Plot 4, Off Road 16, Ikota Villa Estate, Lekki Ajah Expressway. Reception follows at The Manor Event Centre, Admiral Ayinla Way, Lekki Phase 1, 3rd Round about, Opposite Treasure Garden Estate, Lagos. Jahdiel recently released a single ‘Jara’ (DOWNLOAD HERE). Well, this is obviously one of the “jara’s” that follows seeking God’s Kingdom. The ‘heritage’ crooner Grace Okoduwa, popularly known as Jahdiel, is a Nigerian gospel musician, Chemist and entrepreneur. She started singing as young as age five when she joined her Church’s choir and started playing the piano/keyboard at age 13. She attended Aunty Ayo primary & secondary schools and she was senior prefect in her final year. Emmanuel Benjamin, popularly known as EBEN, is a gospel rock artiste who has become a household name in Nigerian gospel music. EBEN started singing in the youth choir of Winners’ Chapel in 1997, from where he went on to establish himself as one of the major vocalists in the mass choir. This resulted in him being a regular feature in the annual Shiloh events from 1999 – 2005. In 2006, he joined Christ Embassy, and almost instantly became one of the regular faces on the Loveworld platform. Eben has appeared often in major events hosted by the ministry like the Night of Bliss held in major cities across Nigeria, and South Africa. In May earlier this year, Eben released his third studio album ‘Justified’, a 15 track album that has caught the fancy of his fans across the globe. Culled from Praiseworld Radio.

Terrorism: Anglican Bishop Urges More Prayers

Nigerians have been urged to intensify prayers so that terrorism in the country can be curbed. The appeal was made by the Bishop of Ijebu North Diocese, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Commun-ion), Rt. Rev. Solomon Kuponu at the silver jubilee celebration of Young Men and Women Christian Association, YMWCA, of St. John Anglican Church, Iju-Ishaga, Lagos on Tuesday. Speaking on a topic “Terror-ism as it affects social and political life of Nigeria: Christ-ian perspective”, Rev. Kuponu said, “Nigeria is a multi-religious country. The problems of Nigeria are many but the deadliest and most worrisome is terror attacks. From its inception, Boko Haram viewed Nigeria as a state run by non-believers and made the government its main target, even when the country had a Muslim president. The effect of this insurgency on the social and political life of the people cannot be over emphasized.” Rev. Kuponu added that the challenges facing Nigeria are serious, and the solutions are scarce. He warned that inviting foreign aid as solutions will compound the problem as there are only few countries with the capability to help. He suggested solutions to the menace of terrorism in Nigeria to include: “we need to intensify prayers; ban activities of Almajiris in the North.” Thuggery is rampant, espec-ially around politicians, who use political thugs to terrorize their opponents and rig elections, he said. Continuing, Rev. Kuponu urged religious leaders to stop preaching hatred, instead they should preach love and encourage followers to live in peace. According to him, Nigerian government should reach out to the poor countries where the terrorists come from and lend a helping hand. “Let them sow seed of love and people can see that there is no need for violence, provide food and medicine and their major problem will be solved. “Government should deal with corruption, poverty and hope-lessness and above all let dialogue be used to settle differences,” he stated. In his welcome address, the president of the Young Men Christian Association of St. John Anglican Church, Mr. Elijah Oni said, “the YMWCA is a non-denominational organisation committed to providing charity works.” Culled from Vanguard Newspaper

Pastor’s Wife Jailed 2 yrs Over N4m Dud Cheque

An Asaba High Court, Tuesday, sentenced the wife of an Asaba-based pastor to two years imprisonment with hard labour for issuing a dud cheque worth N4 million to a bank where she obtained an overdraft facility. Convicted was Mrs. Esther Onekpe who is also the proprietress of Bukky J. Nursery and Primary School, Asaba. Prosecution stated that Mrs. Onekpe, aged 38 years, had on October 8, 2012 at Asaba within the Asaba judicial division issued a Wema Bank cheque NO 1182114718 of N4 million to UBA Plc which was dishonoured when presented on account of insufficient fund in the account and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 1(b) of the dishonoured cheque (offences) Act Cap D11, Volume 5, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. It further told the court that the woman obtained an overdraft of N4million from the Asaba branch of the United Bank of Africa (UBA) PLC but instead diverted into another purpose of which the loan was obtained and in trying to pay back, according to prosecution, a dud cheque was issued. In sentencing her, the court ruled that “she knew that the cheque when presented will be dishonoured. she knew that there was insufficient funds in her Wema bank account. I therefore hold that prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt essential ingredients of the offence. I hereby convict the accused accordingly” . Culled from Vanguard Newspaper

Oritsejafor Grants Scholarship Awards To 40 Indigent Students

WORD of Life Bible Church, Warri in Delta State, recently gave scholarship awards to 40 indigent students to study courses of their choice ranging from mechanical engineering, petroleum engineering, medical sciences to economics at different tertiary institutions of higher learning in the country and overseas. The list included 36 fresh students in 100 level, three in 200 level while the remaining one is a 300 level student. One of the lucky students, Toritse-weju Mene is admitted to read Economics at Memorial University in Canada. Speaking at the award presentation ceremony which took place during the 26th Jubilee Word Festival at the church headquarters in Ajamimogha, Warri, the general overseer, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor said the scholarship was a way the church encourages the growth of education in the society, stating “it is better to have many unemployed graduates than to have a society with uneducated people. “I believe we are coming to a time when graduates will be proud to work in every sector of the society,” the National President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said, adding that he had a covenant with God to empower as many indigent students in and around Delta State as long as possible. He therefore enjoined the benefitting students to take advantage of the opportunity to study hard and carve a niche for themselves because very soon they would be the persons who would determine the future of this country. Stressing the need for the Christians to be their brothers’ keepers, Oritsejafor warned that “the underprivileged children you fail to help today may be the ones that would torment your privileged child-ren tomorrow”. The Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who handed the awards to the 40 recepients, congratulated the Word of Life Bible Church on its 26th anniversary. He commended the church for awarding scholarship to 40 indigent students, noting that an educated society is that which can grow positively. The governor also commend-ed the first family of Word of Life Bible Church, Pastor and Pastor (Mrs.) Ayo Oritsejafor for their unrelenting desire to always lend a helping hand to the underprivileged in the state and the nation as a whole. He warned that disciplinary measures would be taken against any primary and post-primary school head or teacher who is found to be charging fees in any form from students, pointing out that a task force has been set up in the state to monitor activities of teachers to ensure that his administration’s free education programme was not sabotaged, stressing that education is free at primary and post-primary levels in the state. The governor warned that anyone found wanting would be made to face the full weight of the law, adding “we lay a lot of emphasis on education that is why we instituted a free education policy but our efforts are being sabotaged.” Continuing, Dr. Uduaghan said: “Some teachers and school heads are still collecting fees illegally despite the fact that government pays all fees for students including fees for external examinations. We have a task force that is going round and any teacher or school head caught would be disciplined and if you are not caught, God is watching you and will punish you.” He admonished the recipients of the scholarship to be good ambassadors of the church by avoiding unholy activities in their respective schools, stating that the students will also benefit from the state government’s bursary programme if they meet the required grade points. Earlier, Prof. Gabriel Yomere who interviewed the candidates affirmed that their parents cannot sponsor their wards to school. Culled from Vanguard Newspaper

Angola Bans Islam, Destroys Mosques

Announcing plans to eradicate the world’s fastest growing faith from its territories, Angola has become the first country in the world to ban Isalm and has taken preemptive steps to enforce it by actually destroying mosques. This action comes by popular demand of the Angolan people because “they see what Muslims are doing to non-Muslims, especially in Africa, and are taking steps to prevent the same from happening in Angola.” This spate of demolitions started in October when Muslims residing in Luanda woke up to a demolished mosque without prior notice or permission. Other occurrences in the same month included the destruction of the mosque Zango located in the urban district of Viana and a radio broadcast by the Governor of Luanda, Bento Francisco Bento, announcing “that radical Muslims are not welcome in Angola and the Angolan government is not ready for the legalization of mosques in Angola.” And on Tuesday, November 19, the Minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva said. “Regarding Islam, the legalization process has not been approved by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. Therefore all mosques would be closed until further notice. “ It should be noted that the Angolan government has made closing of all mosques a priority. The only two mosques located in Luanda have already received a warning document signed by the mayor of the municipality of Viana José Moreno. The provincial governor of Luanda, Bento Bento, said on the airwaves of local radio that “radical Muslims are not welcome in Angola and the Angolan government is not ready for the legalization of mosques.” Minister of Culture, Rosa Cruz e Silva explained that the law on freedom of religion will be reviewed given the current national context , noting that the Government will redouble its efforts to fight relentlessly against religious cults like Islam which are contrary to the customs of Angolan culture. 95% of Angola’s population is Christian. A quarter belongs to Protestant churches founded during the colonial period, including congregational evangelical church. This decisive action taken by the Angolan head of state is based on a desire to guard against the rise of theWahhabi ideology that has created havoc, death and destruction in Africa and elsewhere. And as rightly explained Tunisian philosopher Mezri Haddad: “Islamism and Islamophobia feed each other. Worse, long-term Islamism as an ideology destroy Islam as religion. “ According to the International Religious Freedom Report 2008, Islam in Angola is a minority religion with 80,000 – 90,000 adherents, composed largely of migrants from West Africa and families of Lebanese origin. The Muslims comprise between 2.5 to 3 percent of Angola’s overall population of 17 million people, most of them Christians. In the last decade, but especially during the last few years the Muslim community in Angola has grown appreciably and Islamic activities have become more common in major cities. Mosques have sprung up in a number of places and Qur’anic schools have been built to provide Islamic instructions and teach Arabic language to adherents. Public attitudes toward Islam have been generally negative. Cultural differences between Angolan and Muslim immigrants have been the basis for negative views toward Islam, as was the perceived link between Islam and illegal immigration. Since the September 11 attacks, there has been a deliberate attempt to link Muslims with terrorism. It has become a matter of routine at Luanda airport for security officers to detain Muslims arriving from Sahelian countries. On September 1, 2008, a Muslim mob attacked non-Muslims in the community of Andulo. The school-age daughter of a deacon at one of the churches was decapitated. Forty Christians were assaulted or tortured. The mob burned three church buildings. They also went to non-Muslim houses to intimidate them or destroyed items of property. Stones were thrown at the headquarters of a local Christian project, causing some damage. An Angolan Christian leader said that the local police were unable to stop the attack and fled the scene. Culled from ynaija.com

Bola Are kickstarts 40 years on stage anniversary

Preparatory to her 40 years on stage anniversary, Evang. (Dr.)Bola Are is set to hold a thanksgiving on October 5, 2013, at Jogor Centre in Ibadan. The gospel musician expressed her profound gratitude to God for keeping her this long in the music industry, just as she thanked the Nigerian media for helping to build her career to this height. “There is no time I don’t say it that God used Nigerian journalists to assist me in propagating the gospel through music. It is only appropriate that I hold a thanksgiving to let God see how grateful I am for his mercies and blessings,” she said. Another celebration will hold at her church before the end of this month. Bishop David Oyedepo will minister at the gospel music icon’s 40 years on stage celebration from 12 noon Saturday.

Suspension: Bishops threaten legal action against S/South CAN

SOME Bishops from the Niger Delta zone have decided to take on the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the zone after they were suspended for allegedly soiling their hands in the murky water of politics South South CAN chairman, Archbishop God-Dowell Avwomakpa, had, last week, announced the suspension of the bishops from the zone after they attempted to broker peace between the G7 governors, who are threatening to dump the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Presidency. Reacting to their alleged suspension, leader of the bishops, who attempted to settle the political crisis on the platform of Global Peace Relief Initiative, His Eminence, Prophet Jones Ode Erue, on Thursday, threatened legal action against Avwomakpa and CAN, saying that the archbishop had no capacity to suspend them. “Avwomakpa has no capacity to suspend us. He is not our member; we only invited him to join us when our delegation visited Governor Rotimi Amaechi. “We give him 48 hours to retract the announcement of our suspension and all the bad things he said about us on Delta Television or else we will institute legal action against him and CAN”, Erue said. Continuing, he added that, “These eminent clerics and their affiliate, Global Peace and Relief Initiative, have taken on a laudable project of consulting across all interest group and stakeholders concerning the Nigerian project. Nigeria is the only country we can call our own and as fathers we cannot fold our hands and watch intolerance and impunity destroy our nation. “To place the records straight, we have not made promises to any persons and we have not used the name of CAN, we have an affiliate whose mission and vision best defines our activity. We are noble men and do not rail accusation on authorities. The group also justified their action by saying “This is a faith based non-governmental organisation with memberships spread across the nation. Our main business is advocacy, conflict prevention/ resolution and facilitation of peace projects whether individual, group, organisation or government. We create a good soil for developmental projects and people-oriented policies to thrive.” They added that they would continue with their consultation of what they described as “the task of putting Nigeria back on the road to national unity and development.” Culled from Tribune Newspaper