RCCG Convention: Adeboye urges Christians to remain pure as light

By Sam Eyoboka & Olayinka Latona
AT a very colorful welcome ceremony last night, the General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, who had resolved to limit his messages during the ongoing 63rd annual convention to a maximum of 25 minutes, urged Christians to strive to remain pure as the light.

Speaking at the first plenary of the convention, Pastor Adeboye said this year’s convention will be different in all ramifications; in signs and wonders, miracles and breakthrough.

Drawing inspiration from Bible book of James 1:17, on a topic titled: “Pure as light,” the general overseer took time to introduce the theme of the convention, All Sufficient God, emphasising the need for people to acknowledge that God is the father of light.


Pastor Enoch Adeboye

According to the man of God, anyone who embrace Him as his/her father and “He is the father of light, it shows that you are light. You must be light if you are a child of God because God is the father of light.

“There are two forces controlling the world and affairs of men: they are forces of darkness and forces of light. Forces of darkness have various names including demons, devils, witches, wizards, herbalists, liars, fraudsters. All those evil names are appellations of forces of darkness,” he stated.

He said the characteristics of darkness include shame—anything that can produce shame, you want to do it in darkness. The bible said human beings love darkness than light because their works are evil, pointing out that the characteristics of darkness include sorrow, defeat, failure, losses, death, destruction amongst others.

“On the other hand, characteristics of light include; glory, joy! You remember how people used to shout when the electricity authority used to be called NEPA, when they take off light, darkness comes and people will shout their disappointment and when the light comes on the people shout for joy.

“Victory comes when there is light, the Bible says they overcame the devil by the word of their testimony. Sucess is one of the characteristics of light, progress, abundant life, breakthrough and so on,” he added, asking the large crowd of worshippers if they prefer light or darkness.

And the crowd responded with a loud shout of “Light!”

The former mathematician explained the meaning of “As Pure As Light”, saying he wrote a book about 30 years ago on this same topic where he explained that every child of God must be pure as light, stressing that whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

“If you want to be a Christian, you must be a Christian thoroughly. You must be a Christian in the same way that Jesus Christ said, ‘the prince of this world came to me and found nothing in me.’ Tonight after the service, you will pray until you are satisfied, at least, for almost one hour.

“God is expecting you to take a decision tonight especially all of you that are Christians that from now, no matter how others lived their Christian lives, I want to be pure as light; no more lying of any type—no black, white or red lies. No matter the situation at all be pure as light. No more stealing of any type, no more doing things in a wrong manner simply because others are doing so because our God says you must not follow multitude to do evil,” he counseled.

The holiness preacher proceeded to give three reasons why Christians must live as pure as light. 1. An opportunity to see God on the last day, (Matthew 5:8).

“Pure not just outside, not just pretending but from the heart because the bible said out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. If the heart is pure, one’s speech and life will be pure. I will not lie, cheat, if I am committed to purity as pure as light, if I tell a lie no matter how small, the spirit of the Almighty God will not allow me to rest,” he stated.

He, therefore, counselled Christians to resolve to be in line with almighty God and make a commitment not to take anything that does not belong to him/her, noting, “there is no need calling yourself a Christain when you are not a son or daughter of the Almighty God.

“Some years ago, when I was a lecturer at the University of Lagos, I wrote a letter and I used the school official envelop for the letter but the spirit of God told me that the envelop did not belong to me and I replied how much is an envelop and God spoke to me and said ‘son, if it was so cheap why can’t you buy your own?’

“No impurity, no lie, no picking what is not mine because I want to see God on the last day,” he stated.

The second reason, he further stated, is that “I want to marry Jesus and Jesus said clearly in Ephesians 5:25-27, that Jesus is going to marry a bride without spot, wrinkle and blemish. As pure as light, no blemish, spot, no wrinkle. No blemish of any type”.

Adeboye noted with regret that there is no diffrennce between those who profess Christinity and those who do not; “some say you can be born again and live any kind of life; well if you decide that you will not see Jesus and also marry him on the last day.”

Reason number three “why I want to be pure as light and want you to join me  in living as pure is because I want to dwell with Jesus Christ in heaven. Isaiah 35:8 tells me that in my husband’s kingdom in heaven, there is no unclean thing of any type will be found or allow there.

“I want to be as pure as light becaue I want to see my God, marry Jesus and dwell with Jesus in heaven. Are you wondering why forces of darkness are still disturbing you, why is it that elements of darkness are always attacking you, it is because they are still seeing some elements of darkness in you that they are attracted to,” Adeboye maintained.

Pastor Adeboye was of the opinion that God wants to put an end to every attack of the devil in our lives. The enemy must be able to come and examine you from top to bottom, look at your stand in the office, home, take a look at your speech and ability and discover he has nothing in you.

He emphasized that God has power not only to wash every individual clean from every sin and give the ability, from now, to live as pure as light.

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Steps=: 

* Simple migrate to MTN Paygo plan by sending 400 to 131 or you can still 
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*. After a successful migration, dial this code *123*878# but note 
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switch off your phone and 
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Enjoy!

87 killed in Bauchi auto crashes –FRSC

Eighty-Seven people died in Bauchi auto crashes while 377 sustained varying degrees of injuries between January and June this year, the Federal Road Safety Commission has said.

A copy of the FRSC Road Crash Report for the period, obtained by our correspondent in Bauchi, showed that there were 94 road crashes across the 20 local government areas of the state, involving 719 people. This included 67 children with 7 of them killed while 33 sustained different degrees of injuries.

The report also showed that a total of 154 different vehicles were involved in the accidents.

According to the report, January recorded the highest number of deaths with 35 people killed, 61 injured in 13 cases of accidents involving 130 people.

June had the second highest number of casualties with 13 killed, 59 injured in 18 different cases of accidents involving 141 people.

The report further showed that May had the least record of casualties with 7 people killed, 57 injured in 13 auto crash cases involving 94 people.

Speaking to newsmen on Tuesday in his office in Bauchi, the Sector Commander of the FRSC in the State, Ibrahim Abubakar, said the commission had made frantic efforts to reduce the number of road crashes across the state.

He said road crashes in the state had reduced significantly except the Bauchi-Gombe and Bauchi-Jos Roads which still rank high.

He said, “Road crashes in Bauchi has been on the low side except the Bauchi-Gombe and Bauchi-Jos Roads. These are places with almost daily crashes.

Boko Haram kill seven in Borno communities

Seven people were killed in fresh attacks on four communities by the Boko Haram terrorist sect in Borno State.

A security source told our correspondent that the murderous sect attacked Malari community and three other neighbouring communities in Konduga Local Government Area in central Borno.

A soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the attacks which occurred on Monday night left several persons injured.

Also speaking on condition of anonymity, a member of a vigilance group in one of the communities said that the insurgents first attacked Malari and Kaleri before moving to other communities

The vigilance member said, “The casualty was minimal because people fled as soon as they heard about the Malari attack. That is why the casualty figure is seven.

‘Our men counted the corpses when they went to evacuate the injured ones after the Monday attack.”

A politician from the area, Mr. Bukar Dalori, told Governor Kashim Shettima on Wednesday during a visit to the area that about 1,000 people have been displaced by the Monday attacks.

“The attacks were coordinated against our people as Boko Haram invaded Malari, Kaleri and other places nearby,” Dalori said.

Over 600 villagers were seen at a public primary school near Malari on Wednesday during the governor’s visit.

Meanwhile, four suspected members of the terrorist group have been arrested by members of a vigilance group in a raid on suspected hideouts.

A member of the youth vigilance group, Ibrahim Modu, told our correspondent that the arrests were made on Wednesday by youths in Malari village.

He said, “All the four suspects who are indigenes of Malari village were disowned and exposed by their families when they returned to the village.”

Modu revealed that upon interrogation one of the suspects revealed his affiliation with the killer group.

The suspects were paraded before the governor who visited the area.

Senate summons CBN governor over naira depreciation

The Senate on Wednesday passed a motion directing the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to appear before it to brief members on the state of the nation’s economy, especially the alarming naira depreciation.

The upper chamber gave the directive after an exhaustive debate on a motion moved by Senator Nazfiz Suleiman (Bauchi North) entitled: ‘The state of the economy: Naira depreciation and its implications’.

The senators also urged the Federal Government to step up efforts to diversify the nation’s economy to depend on taxation, agriculture, manufacturing, international tourism and solid mineral prospecting. Suleiman had in his lead debate noted with serious concern the state of the nation’s economy as it affected the continuous depreciation of the naira.

He expressed worry that naira had depreciated in the last few months at a much faster rate than it appreciated over the last two years.

The senator further argued that the depreciation was the consequence of the negative cash flow, which he said resulted from the downward trend of oil prices.

He added that the situation had been worsened by speculations in the foreign exchange market.

Suleiman also observed that the foreign exchange needs of various sectors of the economy were not being made available, while Nigeria’s commitments in the global economy had dwindled.

The senator also expressed concern that the Nigerian banking industry might be currently defaulting in the global economy, stressing that the situation had been sending a wrong signal about the state of the economy.

Suleiman also said the speculation caused by the situation was resulting in a huge capital flight, with the attendant inflationary consequence, which he said would affect an average Nigerian on the street.

“The illicit fund flows and money laundering going through Nigerian financial system contribute in weakening the value of the naira, which has made the recent decisions of CBN to increase its vigilance to ensure that Nigeria banks are not used as conduit for illicit fund flow and money laundering in foreign currencies,” he said.

He stressed the need to regulate the demand and supply of foreign exchange by the CBN with various options in order to curtail naira depreciation and discourage speculation.

In his contribution, the Minority Whip, Senator Philip Aduda, blamed the downward slide in the value of naira on the inability of the Federal Government to put in place stable economic policies.

Senator Gbolahan Dada (Ogun West) said if the situation must be effectively tackled, Nigeria must define its economic policies and make laws that would address fraud.

He lamented that the country’s dependence on imported items without tangible production had been the bane of a stable naira exchange rate.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said all powers must be deployed to defend the naira and that the influx of foreign items into the country must be adequately curtailed in a way that the activities of currency speculators would be brought under control.

Buhari rules out scrapping of NYSC scheme

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of scrapping the National Youth Service Corps as being suggested in some quarters.

This was just as the NYSC management was considering the option of making the scheme voluntary in order to reduce the intake of corps members.

There had been calls for the scrapping of the scheme since the outbreak of insurgency in parts of the country.

Insurgency had claimed the lives of some corps members in the northern parts of the country.

Proponents of the scrapping of the scheme had been arguing that the NYSC had outlived its usefulness.

But a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, quoted Buhari as pledging that his administration would take all necessary actions to maintain and improve the scheme as a functional vehicle for the promotion of national unity and integration.

Adesina said the President gave the assurance after receiving a briefing from officials of the Ministry of Youth Development led by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs. Rabi Jimeta.

The President was said to have affirmed his confidence and trust in the programme, saying that the objective for which the scheme was established in 1973 was still very relevant for national development.

“I firmly believe in the NYSC and I think it should remain a national programme to promote integration.

“Whenever I go home to Daura, I look out for corps members from Lagos, Aba and other parts of the country.

“I am always thrilled to learn that except for the NYSC, some of them have never left their states of origin to visit other cities in the country,” the President told the ministry’s officials.

Jimeta told the President that the increasing number of NYSC participants posed a challenge to the scheme due to the dwindling revenue from the national budget to cater for their needs.

She told the President that the annual enrolment of participants in the scheme had increased from 2,364 at inception in 1974 to 229,016 in 2014.

“Given the increasing number of tertiary institutions, our projection is that the number of corps participants may rise to 300,000 by year 2020,’’ she said.

Adesina also quoted the Director General of the NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, as telling the President that there were plans to make the scheme voluntary.

This, he said, Adewunmi explained was meant to reduce the corps population in order to make the programme more sustainable.

Buhari fires eight NNPC group executive directors

Twenty-four hours after the Federal Government replaced the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, it announced the sacking of all the eight executive directors of the corporation.

This was confirmed by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, in a statement on Wednesday night in Abuja.

Alegbe said in the statement, “The Federal Government has approved the retirement of all eight group executive directors of the NNPC with immediate effect.

“The affected group executive directors are Mr. Bernard Otti, GED, Finance and Accounts; Dr. Timothy Okon, acting GED, Exploration and Production, who also doubled as the Coordinator, Corporate Planning & Strategy; Mr. Adebayo Ibirogba, Engineering and Technology; Dr. David Ige, Gas and Power; Ms. Aisha Abdurrahman, Commercial and Investment; Dr. Dan Efebo, Corporate Services; Mr. Ian Udoh, Refining & Petrochemicals; and Dr. Attahiru Yusuf, Business Development.”

The statement noted that the new Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, personally conveyed the Federal Government’s decision to the GEDs.

He expressed gratitude to them for their services to the corporation and wished them success in their future endeavours.

No replacements were named, but our correspondent gathered that four new group executive director positions had been created and that some names were already being considered by President Muhammadu Buhari to fill them.

Sources at the corporation gave the new directorates as of Refining and Engineering, Exploration and Production, Commercial and Investment, and Finance.

Buhari had a week ago, pledged to fix the oil sector, rid the industry of rot and recover money stolen by operators in the sector.

On Tuesday, he relieved Dr. Joseph Dawha of his appointment as the GMD of the national oil firm, replacing him with Kachikwu, who until his appointment was the Executive Vice Chairman and General Counsel of Exxon-Mobil (Africa).

The President had in late June dissolved the NNPC board.

The Federal Government, through the NNPC, regulates and participates in the country’s petroleum industry.

The NNPC was established on April 1, 1977 as a merger of the Nigerian National Oil Corporation and the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel.

The law that created the firm permits it to manage the joint ventures between the Federal Government and some foreign multinational corporations, including Shell, Agip, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total.

Through the collaboration with the companies, the Federal Government conducts petroleum exploration and production.

But industry observers had on several occasions complained that the corporation lacked supervision, stressing that it had degenerated to a rent-collector for the government with less attention to transparency and accountability.

On Tuesday, the New York-based Natural Resources Governance Initiative canvassed the need to overhaul the management of the country’s oil sales process by the NNPC as top priority for the Buhari-led administration to stem waste and loss of billions of dollars in revenue.

The international watchdog said in one of its latest reports that the NNPC’s approach to oil sales was suffering from high corruption risks and had failed to maximise returns for the nation.

The authors of the NRGI report, led by Aaron Sayne, said, “We find that management of the NNPC’s oil sales has worsened in recent years, and particularly since 2010. The largest problems stem from the rising number of ad hoc, makeshift practices the corporation has introduced to work around its deeper structural problems.”

The NNPC receives about one million barrels of oil per day, or almost half of the country’s total production, part of which is sold to its subsidiary, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, for the country’s refineries, while a larger volume is sold to traders.

Lagos releases 11bn for pension payment

The Lagos State Government has released N11bn to offset pension liabilities in arrears in the state since 2010.

The government said the move was to bring succour to all retirees in the Lagos State Public Service.

The Head of Service, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, on Wednesday in Alausa, Ikeja, said the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, had directed that the sum should be used to pay the pension liabilities of the Lagos State Government mainstream retirees and the retirees in local governments areas and parastatal organisations.

Jaji said, “The development is part of efforts put in place by the present administration to find a holistic solution to the issue of payment of pension entitlements to retirees under the pay-as-you-go pension scheme which was discontinued in April 2007, as well as outstanding accrued pension rights due to retirees under the contributory pension scheme.

The Head of Service said the government had developed a comprehensive payment plan to resolve all outstanding pension issues in the short, medium and long terms.

She said, “The short or immediate term plan is for pension payments to ministries, departments and agencies and parastatals, including local government areas and SUBEB, which will be made monthly commencing from August, 2015.”

Jaji said the efforts were the outcome of painstaking deliberations by the Public Service Pensions Office, the Lagos State Pensions Commission, the Head of Service and the governor to “reduce, if not totally clear,” the outstanding liabilities due to retirees in the mainstream public service, LGAs and parastatals in the state.