Pastor resigns after watching video of Kumuyi rallying support for Tinubu – Newstrends
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Pastor resigns after watching video of Kumuyi rallying support for Tinubu

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2 years ago

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William Kumuyi

Pastor resigns after watching video of Kumuyi rallying support for Tinubu

A pastor of Deeper Life Bible Church, 84, Nnobi Road, Nnewi, Anambra State, Ogueze Venitius Chinyerugo, has resigned as the district pastor of the church on account of the apparent support of the general superintendent and head of the church, William Kumuyi, for the government of President Bola Tinubu, exemplified by recent comments on the administration.

Chinyerugo, in a letter dated August 23, 2023, said he was resigning from his pastoral assignment following a viral video of the superintendent of the church delving into politics by supporting the Tinubu administration that he claimed has brought hardship on Nigerians.

In a letter addressed to the regional overseer, Deeper Life Bible Church, Chinyerugo stated: “I write this note with great burden, bearing in mind its far-reaching spiritual implications.

“I feel that our father in the Lord and our general superintendent, Dr WF Kumuyi, have made a costly mistake and there is no way for me to effectively convey my mind to him than resigning as the pastor of the above district, effective from today, the 23rd of August, 2023.

“My decision was taken after watching the video, which I forwarded to you, where he advised Nigerians to support the government and the ministers, because, according to him, they will perform, especially going by their antecedents.

“Honestly, I was devastated and felt terrible, humiliated and disappointed after watching the clip. For the records, I became born-again on April 10, 1984, as an undergraduate under the Christian Union, and later in that year I joined Deeper Life, after months of searching for a church that reflects the Bible. Why not? I could not have left the world only to fool myself and surrender myself again to be deceived. I have not been disappointed since I joined the church.

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“God has so graciously used the pastor to mould my Christian life and, of course, the life of many others. He has also, by words and conduct, taught us to mind the kingdom business and to refrain from dabbling into political matters. He had exemplified this teaching for several decades by steering clear of political controversies, until lately.

“Most debilitating was his visit in 2019 to the President of Nigeria then, Muhammadu Buhari, at a time when Nigerians, Christians, pagans, Muslims and atheists, were wishing and praying for him to exit. While Nigerians with their short memories are trying to forget that visit blunder to such an insensitive leader, a tribal and religious bigot, our pastor has committed another terrible blunder.

“He has recommended this present administration, in which every detail about the administration is antithetical to the pastors’s preaching. And this is while the presidency is still subject to national and international judicial contests. As a mathematician, I wonder what mathematical principle he used to arrive at that conclusion because my elementary arithmetic taught me that zero multiplied by one trillion amounts to zero. So, on what moral principle would this administration fight corruption? On the past performances and quality of the ministers, I wonder if our pastor knows about Isa Bagudu and many of the former governors.

“Sir, if I do not remove the speck in my very own eyes, then I will be one of the hordes of hypocrites marauding everywhere in Nigeria. I am one of those who vehemently criticise members of Catholic, Anglican and some other Pentecostal churches for not drawing the attention of their own leaders when they go wrong, hence my decision to resign. I am particularly let down by the demeaning comments in the social media space, and, unlike usual, I am silenced to defend him because the comments are correct! He has given the enemies of the Lord the opportunity they are looking for to talk down on him and, by extension, the church.

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“All through the election campaigns, he maintained a glorious and dignified silence, and we members of the church earned respect for that. I wonder about the need for this comment at this point in time.

“I wish this message reaches him, but considering that the office bureaucracy will likely make it impossible for it to get to him, I may have to pass it to him through social media in the next one or two weeks, unless he speaks to Nigerians.

“Thanks a lot for indulging my several irritations. I pray for heaven at last for all of us.

“Supporting our leaders presupposes that such leaders meet up with 2 Samuel 23:3, that is, ‘They that want to rule among men must be righteous and fearing God,’ which obviously means that they should not rig, kill and corner power by force, they should have a popular mandate to rule. Any other prayer reserved for such leaders without the above qualifications is that God should give us the courage to stand up against them like the people of Sri Lanka. Since an Ethiopian cannot change his colour, praying for such people to change and, maybe, become born-again at this point in time is unrealistic.

“However, since faith without works is dead, when we have done all that we are supposed to do and there’s nothing else left, then we should resort to prayer, since, with God, nothing shall be impossible.”

Pastor resigns after watching video of Kumuyi rallying support for Tinubu

(Text excluding headline from NewsExpress/Daily Sun)

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Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

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22 hours ago

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March 23, 2025

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Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) yesterday attributed its neutral position on the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State to the need to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.

Taking positions on contentious partisan issues, the NGF said, would not augur well for it, especially in view of its past experience in fundamental division.

Notwithstanding, the declaration of the state of emergency by President Bola Tinubu yesterday generated more kudos and knocks from across the country.

Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, Senator Basheer Lado, said the action of the president was meant to ensure protection of lives and restoration of law and order in the state, while the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said his principal  was required  to “avert needless harm and destruction .”

National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, said Tinubu, by his action, cleared what had manifested as a constitutional crisis in Rivers state.

But former President Goodluck Jonathan saw it from a different perspective.

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He described “abuse of office and power by the three arms of government in the country“ as a dent on Nigeria’s image.

The NGF, in a statement by its Director General Abdulateef Shittu, said it is essentially “an umbrella body for sub-national governments to promote unified policy positions and collaborate with relevant stakeholders in pursuit of sustainable socio-economic growth and the well-being of the people.”

It added: “As a technical and policy hub comprising governors elected on different platforms, the body elects to steer clear of taking positions that may alienate members with varying political interests.

“In whatever language it is written, taking positions on contentious partisan issues would mean a poor sense of history — just a few years after the forum survived a fundamental division following political differences among its members.

“Regardless, the Forum is reputed for its bold positions on governance and general policy matters of profound consequences, such as wages, taxes, education and universal healthcare, among others.”

It asked for “the understanding of the public and the media, confident that appropriate platforms and crisis management mechanisms would take care of any such issues.”

Why governors’ forum is silent on Rivers emergency, by DG

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Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi

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2 days ago

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March 22, 2025

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Chairman of the Senate Services Sunday Karimi

Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi

Chairman of the Senate Services Sunday Karimi has hailed President Bola Tinubu for the decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.

 He told reporters on Friday in Abuja that the President acted in the best interest of the State and Nigeria, having taken his decision in compliance with the Constitution.

“No President or government worth a name, will fold its arms and watch a political situation deteriorate to what we saw unfolding in Rivers State.

“We saw that bombing of pipelines had begun, and the security situation was getting worse with the tension everywhere”, Karimi stated.

Karimi, who represents Kogi-West on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), recalled the “fatherly role” Tinubu had played in the crisis since 2023 in a bid to get the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara to reach an understanding, to no avail.

He explained: “We were all here in 2023 when Mr President called that truce meeting at the Aso Rock Villa. There was the eight-point agenda for settlement reached between the factions.

“When Nigerians expected that progress should be made to achieve peace, things started deteriorating considerably to a point where the governor demolished the House of Assembly building and administered the state with only three legislators.”

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Karimi observed that with the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, which gave the upper hand to the 27 lawmakers loyal to the camp of the FCT Minister, matters merely got worse in the State as the lawmakers were set to impeach the Governor.

“What did you expect would be the implications? There would have been more destruction, killings and economic losses for the country.

“With the bombings that had already started, it was a matter of time before the whole state would be engulfed in flames. No responsible President would sit, arms folded, and allow that to happen “ he added.

The senator further argued that it took “painstaking efforts” by the administration to raise daily crude oil production to around 1,800 barrels, noting that Nigeria’s economy was already “witnessing a rebound under the renewed hope projects of the government.”

“Allowing the situation in Rivers to get worse before he would act, wouldn’t have helped the state or Nigeria as a country in any way.

“Mr. President intervened at the right time, and his actions are covered by law,” he said.

Karimi also spoke on the emergency declaration  in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and a couple of other states by former President Goodluck Jonathan without removing the Governors from office or suspending the state assemblies.

According to him, the case with those States was not generated by political crises but rather security concerns.

“So, I will advise those comparing the two scenarios to remember that one was purely about security threats resulting from the insurgency caused by Boko Haram, while that of Rivers is clearly political.

“It was the proper thing to do to suspend the political actors in the two factions to allow for tensions to diffuse. Nigerians should appreciate the President for the action he has taken so far,” he stated.

Sen. Karimi also noted that there was no cause for alarm as the National Assembly had indicated that the emergency rule could be reviewed as soon as there were signs that things could quickly normalise in Rivers State.

 

Rivers: Tinubu acted to save state, economy, says Karimi

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Just in: Tinubu swears in Rivers Sole Administrator Ibas

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5 days ago

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March 19, 2025

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Just in: Tinubu swears in Rivers Sole Administrator Ibok-ete Ibas 

President Bola Tinubu has sworn in Vice Vice Admiral Ibok-ete Ibas (Retd.) as the Sole Administrator of Rivers State.

The administrator was sworn in on Wednesday after a short meeting with the President.

Tinubu announced the appointment of the retired naval chief at a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, when he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu, and the state House of Assembly members.

The President said his decision was based on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, saying he could not continue to watch the political situation in Rivers escalate without taking concrete action.

The suspension of Fubara and other elected representatives has been rejected and condemned by many eminent Nigerians, legal luminaries, groups such as Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Femi Falana, the Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Nigerian Bar Association.

However, the emergency rule has been praised by the pro-Nyesom Wike Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule, accusing Fubara of contravening the Supreme Court ruling on the political situation in the state.

Ibas was the Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021.

He is from Cross River State where he had his early education.

The new sole administrator went to the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1979 from where he proceeded to have a successful career in the Navy, rising through the ranks to the very top.

He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and the Nigerian Institute of Management.

President Muhammadu Buhari who appointed him as Chief of Naval Staff conferred him with the National Honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) in 2022.

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