A statement credited to the General Secretary of faction of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Pastor David Udofia stating that there is no sincere efforts to end 30 year old crisis of the church, has been debunked as false by Pastor Samuel Oladele, the President of CAC, Nigeria and Overseas .
Udofia in a statement in Ibadan on Tuesday said, “This month, September, marks the 32nd anniversary of the crisis that divided our dear church. It is a great shame that despite great names that have emerged from the church, respected bible scholars that have risen to leadership positions, we have found it difficult to proffer an effective solutions to the division in our dear church,” he said.
But in his reaction, Oladele noted that the statement that there is no sincere efforts to end the age long crisis is false.
Pastor Oladele who spoke with journalists at this year’s pastor conference at church’s headquarters in Ikeji Arakeji said: “reconciliation is still in the process. The crisis is 30 years old now and we have tried all humanly possible means to end the crisis. We pray God will crown our efforts with success.
“We have been meeting since 2017 and we leave everything to God. About statement that there is no genuine effort to end the crisis and reconcile the church is not true. Pastor Udofia has not been coming to meetings though I wouldn’t say other faction is not ready for reconciliation. There are things not known to the public or churches but I won’t like to say what will escalate the crisis”, Pastor Oladele revealed.
While speaking on state of the nation, Oladele carpets Nigerian leaders for failures to provide socioeconomic infrastructures and ending of insecurities to promote peace and economic development.
Taking his Bible verse from Proverbs 14:34, Oladele said: “For our nation, Nigeria, to return to the path of peace and greatness, we must first embrace and practise righteousness. Nigeria remains one of the most religious nations in the world yet we have raised the bar of injustice and wickedness to an unprecedented level”.
“What do we call the closure of our institutions of higher learning for more than seven months, leaving our youths in limbo, if not wickedness? Can we say that the parties involved are fighting a worthy cause if they are unable to proffer practicable solutions to the needless debacle? What about the continued shameless violation of our national values by the custodians themselves? And how do we describe the sabotage of social amenities by the same people for whom such amenities have been provided – like rail tracks, power lines, bridge girders, oil pipelines etc.? And what do we call the arrogance of our rulers and the the shameless complicity of the ruled?
These all point to the gaping need for our society to return to the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ.
“The society is grappling with all kinds of horrendous crimes: kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, communal strives, terrorism and all other forms of corruption and moral decadence because the values of humanity in us, which made us live in peace with our neighbours, have been eroded.
“To return to the good old days of a nation where peace and justice reigns, Nigeria must return to the Lord.
Also speaking on 2023 general elections, Oladele charged electorates to vote for credible candidates and should not be deceived by politicians lies.
He said: We are confronted with unusual choices hence we need to pray earnestly that God should give us a men and women after his heart to lead us in the next dispensation. However, we must ensure that we vote and make our votes count for real. Let no man deceive you by “it doesn’t matter” syndrome. Everything which the politician says “does not matter” matters in actual fact. Religion matters, tribe matters, gender matters, status matters, education matters, you matter and your votes matter too. However, these are not enough to give us good leaders. God is the one who knows the innermost intention of a man and to Him we should look to give us leaders after His heart.
