… begs pastors to pray for Nigeria never to borrow again
By Charles Olewezi
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor E.A Adeboye has revealed that Nigeria’s current debt situation can be described as that of something in a bottomless pit. He said this in his message to the participants at the 18th National Biennial Conference of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) held recently in Abuja. The conference with the theme – The Rebirth of a Nation, brought together all the leaders of the major pentecostal churches in Nigeria including the founding fathers of PFN. They include Pastor W.F Kumuyi of the Deeper Life Christian Ministry, Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church, Rev. (Mrs.) Mercy Ezekiel of the Christian Pentecostal Mission, and a renowned evangelist, Rev. Dr. Umar Ukpai amongst others.
Pastor Adeboye recalled that years back especially in the 1970s, Nigeria was so prosperous that the naira was stronger than the dollar. He said, “But somewhere along the line Nigeria became so rich that we didn’t even know what to do with the money. Then suddenly, we began to borrow and we became so deep in debt. During the tenure of President Obasanjo, God helped us to pay our debt. We need to cry to that same God again to help pull us out of the almost bottomless pit of indebtedness. We must also pray to God never to allow us borrow again.”
Pastor Adeboye noted that the new birth we are looking for is dependent on the church. “Before we pray for the rebirth of our nation, let us pray for the rebirth of the church. The church is no longer what it used to be. We need a rebirth church. We must humble ourselves and meet God’s conditions. We must also be united as a church”, he concluded.
Many of the speakers at the conference harped on the need for the church to come together as one and fight the common enemy of Nigeria. Pastors and ministers at the 18th Biennial Conference had earlier re-elected Bishop Francis Wale Oke as the President of PFN. The conference was held in the main bowl of the Glory Dome of Dunamis International Gospel Church, along Airport Road, Abuja.