16th Pentecostal Fellowship Of Nigeria Biennial Conference In Enugu

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REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE 16^TH PENTECOSTAL FELLOWSHIP OF NIGERIA BIENNIAL CONFERENCE IN ENUGU ON THE 3^RD OF MARCH, 2021

PROTOCOLS

Let me begin by thanking the Lord for myself and on your behalf that we are able to attend this 16^th Biennial Conference of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria today, in good health, in good shape, in joy and in peace. We praise the Almighty God for this wonderful opportunity.

Permit me also to thank our leader and immediate past president of the PFN, Reverend Felix Omobude, for his kind and gracious invitation to me to attend this event.

I must also bring you the warm felicitations of President Muhammadu Buhari, who has asked me not just to extend his personal felicitations, but to congratulate you Sir, Rev. Omobude, on the successful and glorious completion of your tenure in office.

Most importantly today, may I express my heartfelt gratitude for the unquantifiable honour of this award to me and to my dear brother, His Excellency the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

Secondly, no more coveted preferment than that conferred by one’s brethren. I thank you all for this wonderful award for myself and on behalf of my brother, the Governor. I pray that you all will receive not just honour from men here on earth, but more importantly in the end, from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Let me congratulate the incoming President of the PFN, Bishop Wale Oke, founder and presiding Bishop of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries and founder of the Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan.

Bishop Wale Oke is one of the fathers of the faith in Nigeria who has labored very hard for the fellowship for years, but who has also for years, traveled all over this Nation, fulfilling a mandate of prayer for Nigeria. For God to have enabled this foremost intercessor for Nigeria to lead this body of saints at this time, is a powerful statement that the Lord has Nigeria in His plans. We will see the fulfillment and fruition of those plans in Jesus’ name.

He is to be supported by the irrepressible apostle of the faith, Archbishop John Praise Daniel, the presiding archbishop of the Dominion Chapel International Churches.

We must commend the leadership of PFN, for such a smooth electoral process leading to the emergence of the President and his Deputy and all members of the Executive practically unopposed. This is as it should be. The PFN certainly has a lot to teach us politicians on how to conduct elections without any rancor. I pray that the Lord will give this Executive good success in Jesus’ name.

Let me thank the outgoing, President Rev Omobude, for his invaluable service to the PFN. He handled our affairs with impeccable integrity, fatherly understanding, maturity, and godly insight. Only the Lord can truly reward your labor of love and service not just for the PFN, but for the propagation of the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour all these many years. God bless you, Sir.

Under your able leadership and in collaboration with the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, led by our brother Rev.  Dr. Supo Ayokunle, I received several solidarity visits and I am eternally indebted to you for those visits which greatly strengthened and encouraged me.

As I did at some of those meetings, I tried to give in some detail, the progress report of our government. I was enabled at several of those meetings to share my heart with you on so many different issues. Today I will not have the time to be able to give that kind of account/report, so you will permit me to defer that for another occasion.

Mr. President permit me a word on the theme of this meeting – “The Unquenchable Light.” This is an incredibly perceptive theme.  The church of our Lord Jesus Christ is not a mere religious organization. It is not even as some may want it to be, a socio-political organization. It is the light of the world. It is the salt of the world. In our context, the church is the light of this Nation.

Why is this so? What is this light? It is the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to this world to pay the price for our sins so that we can all attain eternal life in peace and joy. This gospel is the power of God for the healing and transformation of men and Nations. It is more powerful than an ideology and manifesto. Just as Romans 1:16 says:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. It is the Wisdom of God.”

Also 1 Corinthians 1:24:

“But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the deliverance of men and women from destruction but the wisdom of God is often seen as foolishness by men!”

So, we must bear this gospel, those of us who believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, with confidence knowing that it is the beacon of hope and succour for our Nation.  As bearers of the gospel, we are the “Reconcilers-In-Chief.” We are the salt to the wounds of a Nation; we are the voice of peace and unity where division and strife have arisen. We are the purveyors of justice, for all of those who are disempowered.

The good news is that this light is unquenchable. This good news gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom will abide forever. No device or design of man can defeat it. We are completely fearless in our propagation of the faith.

The future of our Nation is bright.  A strong, united, and prosperous country is in the process of being born. We are experiencing some birth pangs, painful and difficult, but this will end and we will celebrate the birth of a new Nation in joy.

We who bear the anointing of our Lord Jesus Christ know that there is no way that the glorious destiny of this Nation will be subverted. This Nation is the apple of God’s eyes and this journey we have undertaken will end in praise to the glory of His name.

God bless you all and thank you very much.