TEXT OF PRESS CONFERENCE ORGANIZED BY CHRISTIAN SOCIAL MOVEMENT OF NIGERIA (CSMN) AND ADDRESSED BY NATIONAL CHRISTIAN ELDERS FORUM ((NCEF) ON FRIDAY 23^RD NOVEMBER, 2018 AT GOSHEN LAND, IKEJA, LAGOS AT 12.00 NOON

POLITICS AND THE NIGERIAN CHURCH:

THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN ELDERS FORUM’S VIEWPOINT

Politics affects the lives of all of us; it cannot become an Exclusive Preserve of a handful of Politicians.

Neutrality of the Church at “TIMES LIKE THIS” is tantamount to “Leaving the flock alone without the guidance of a Shepherd” (Mk. 6: 34)

Distinguished gentlemen of the Press,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our attention has been drawn to a Press Release signed on behalf of CAN by Bishop Steve Adegbite, the Director of National Issues and Mobilization, on Wednesday 14th November, 2018 condemning the intervention of NCEF in the contentions and crisis amongst the CAN Executive.

Arising from the aforementioned Press Release, NCEF wishes to clarify as follows:

November 14, 2018

Bishop Oriname O. Kure

Chairman

Christian Association of Nigeria CAN

Benin City

My Lord,

CONTENDING IDEOLOGIES OF DEMOCRACY AND SHARIA

Further to our telephone conversation, Kure/Asemota of Tuesday, November 13, 2018, the issues in contention in Nigeria today is the competing ideologies of Democracy and Sharia.

“For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth,” 2 Cor. 13: 8

Please find below links to three reports on issues that affect the current state of Christianity in Nigeria. These issues are made open in the interest of Truth and Righteousness and also for record purposes in Heaven and on Earth.

“The further a society drifts from the truth the more it will hate those who speak it.” –

George Orwell.

OUR ATTENTION HAS BEEN DRAWN to a very disturbing notice in the Social Media issued by the Media Assistant to the President of CAN, to the effect that a NEW COORDINATOR has been appointed for the CAN TRUST FUND. This action climaxes the series of manipulations and intrigues set in motion by Rev. Dr. Samson Olasupo Ayokunle to destabilize, frustrate, destroy and eventually illegally dismantle the current structure of the CAN Trust Fund and put in place one that would be pliable to him. We wish to place on record that since Rev Dr Samson Ayokunle assumed office as the CAN President, he has not hidden his avowed intention to destabilize the Christian Association of Nigeria by frustrating and dismantling the CAN Trust Fund. Pastor Bosun Emanuel, Secretary/Coordinator of the Trust Fund has in the past written severally to CAN on this subject but it is now clear that Rev Dr Ayokunle has succeeded in misleading CAN on the issue of the CAN TRUST FUND. It has to be noted that all the actions taken under the directives of the CAN President are illegal and unsustainable in law having regard to the actual nature of the TRUST FUND and the involvement of CAN thereto. 

INTRODUCTION

The NCEF has written letters to Church leaders which, till date, have not been acknowledged. This, in our view is not in keeping with Christian ethos and ideals

We have pleaded with Prof Otubu and Pastor Bosun from taking court action against Rev. Supo Ayokunle for the obvious reason that Christians in Nigeria today more than ever before need “to be one”.  This is not to say that Church leaders and elders can hide criminal acts by Church leaders especially and specifically, the CAN President, who is the head of the number one organization of Christians which pride itself as the moral conscience of the Nigerian Nation.

 -These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him:

A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running unto mischief,

A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Proverbs 6:16-19.

The National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) is a Group of Christian Elders from the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. Average age in the Forum is 70 years and the members have served Nigeria in various high ranking capacities before and after Independence. The Christian Elders have only one passion and that is to preserve Christianity and leave behind a better Nigeria for coming generations.

My Lord the Chief Judge, my Lords, last December, my Lord the Chief Judge was gracious enough to attend and honor me at my 80^th birthday.  Having attained my present age, I had to seek my senior colleague Mr. Kola Okeaya-Inneh, SAN’s permission to address Your Lordship on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates in Edo State at this Special Court Session.  At 80, with six decades involvement with the law in Nigeria having been appointed Cadet Sub-Inspector of Police in 1959, called to Bar in 1970 and the Inner Bar in 1986. I consider this opportunity both a privilege and an honor to be able to stand before your lordships and, through you, address the Law profession of my country Nigeria. 

Introduction 

The issue of race has been played down since amalgamation of 1914.  As a result, most of us, Nigerians do not know and those who know would not talk about the fact that two races - Negros and Negroids, were compelled to live together after the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria.

Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.

For the past twenty years, Nigerians have been voting the same group of people, crisscrossing from one party to the other, into power. The result has been insecurity, insurgency, terrorism, poverty, unemployment, disunity, lawlessness, impunity, bloodshed, broken down infrastructure, and a fall of over 1,600% in the value of the Naira. (N21.89 in 1999; N360 in 2018)

The National Christian Elders’ Forum (NCEF) has argued since its inauguration in 2015, that the problem in Nigeria is the incursion of Sharia into our Democracy – Democracy versus “Invisible” Sharia. We drew attention to the statement of the Sultan of Sokoto (Sarkin Muslumi) of Nigeria who was alleged to have said in Harvard University that the Quran is his Constitution.  He has, till now, not denied this statement.   DOWNLOAD PDF

The Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) organized a Conference tagged “THINK DEMOCRACY” on Tuesday, 28th August, 2018, at the Daughters of Divine Love Retreat and Conference Centre (DRACC), Lugbe, Abuja, to evaluate developments in the country and the challenges confronting governance in Nigeria.  In collaboration with CSMN were the following Democratic groups:

REJOINDER

KILLINGS: LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD

REJOINDER TO PRESS RELEASE BY THE NIGERIAN SUPREME COUNCIL FOR ISLAMIC AFFAIRS (NSCIA) ON JULY 5, 2018.

THE NATIONAL CHRISTIAN ELDERS’ FORUM (NCEF) PERSPECTIVE OF THE TRUTH

PREAMBLE

On 5^th July, 2018, the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) published an article titled LET THE TRUTH BE TOLD. In our candid estimation, rather than tell the truth, the article is the exact opposite of the truth. It might have been more proper to have titled it “Let the Taqiyya be told”. It  is distressing  that  radical  Islam (Islamism)   having  caused much   harm to the Christian community in  Nigeria, is adding insult to  injury, in this  age of information  and enlightenment, by attempting to distort narratives  with flagrant abuse of  the truth.