By Francis Sadhere
The Warri branch chapter of the Assemblies of God Church, has called both parties involved in the ongoing crisis rocking the church to sheath their sword and come together as one indivisible entity.
The Warri District Superintendent, Rev. Fred Iyoriovhe made this call on Sunday during a peaceful Rally held round Warri to create awareness that the Assemblies of God Church is one.
Members of the church marched around Warri displaying various placards which reads, “No To Division In AG,” “No To Coup in The Church,” “No to Falsehool, We Stand for Truth,” “Rev. Paul Emeka Is the General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Nigeria,” Stop Fighting Against God’s Will and Mandate,” etc.
Speaking to journalist, Rev. Iyorovhe said the rally is to tell the whole world that Warri District of the Assemblies of God Church were solidly behind the leadership of the Rev. Prof. Paul Emeka, noting that Rev. Emeka will remain their leaders no matter what others try to say.
He said the courts have proved beyond all reasonable doubt that all the allegations brought against the elected General Superintendent of the church were all false, adding that it was high time everybody put their differences behind and come together under one umbrella.
He called on the those who have left the church to come back to the church, saying that the devil was behind what is happening in the church and should not be given any reason to have an upper hand.
He said, “We are here in this rally today because some people who we call power brokers want to hijack the church. We are saying no to coup, we are saying that Assembly of God is one and we shall remain one because we are one God. We are saying that Rev. Prof. Paul Emeka, the authentic elected General Superintendent of Assembly of God Nigeria is our leader.
“We want the High Court judgment of Enugu that says that all should return to status quo to be obeyed by all parties, until the judgment of the Supreme Court. We want the General Superintendent to call all those who have left the church to come back and let us serve one God.
“We can always reconcile. CAN said we should reconcile, PFN says we should reconcile and the College of Bishops says we should also reconcile too. So why can’t we reconcile? We know that we are all serving one God and we are going to reconcile this issue. We want everyone to come together under one umbrella. We refused to join those who want to destroy the church.”
On his part, the Warri District Secretary of the Assemblies of God Church, Reverend Blessing Bamaiyi Oguche also said that they embarked on the peaceful rally because they want the world to know that the church under the leadership of Rev. Prof. Paul Emeka stands for peace, reconciliation and unity.
He said, “Today is a national day of prayer and we have decided to hold a peace rally for Assemblies of God Nigeria. We want to tell the whole world that the Assemblies of God, Nigeria, under Rev. Prof. Paul Emeka stands for peace, reconciliation and unity. We say no to division, coup plotting and no to everything that breaches the constitution of the Assemblies of God and defies morality.
“Our advice to those standing against the General Superintendent are fighting against God. We need to come to the round table and talk. All the allegations that have been laid against the General Superintendent have been proved beyond every reasonable doubt to be false. Now the whole world know that all the things he was accused of were not true. What is holding them back from coming back to the church? They should come back and forget their pride and let Assemblies of God be one.”
Another member of the church who spoke to journalist during the rally, Mrs Elizabeth Omole, called on all parties involved in the crisis to reconcile their differences and live as one body.
“We want the Assemblies of God to be one. We do not want division to be in the church. We want everybody to reconcile and come together as one. No matter the devise of the enemies, nothing will happen to Assemblies of God.”
