The Bishop Metropolitan Diocese of Ikeja, Rev Tunde Adegbite, has said it was not the church’s duty to canvass for a vote for any presidential candidate.
He spoke with reporters on the sidelines of the fifth Diocesan harvest, anniversary thanksgiving and conferment of awards service held at the Methodist Cathedral of Peace and Excellence, Opebi, Ikeja.
He said the church would not canvass votes for any candidate as it was not its duty but would not fail to criticise any leader who fails to keep promises.
“The church is the father to all. We are not going to declare for any candidates, we are not going to say this is our adopted candidates, no.
“We are not going to say, don’t vote for these candidates. If we do that, then we don’t know what we are doing.
“The church is not in partisan politics. Anyone that emerges as the president of Nigeria will be supported by the church.
“Nobody should capitalise on the church to canvass for a vote, no. It is only God that knows the one that is serving him. Even people in cloth like me many are not children of God. So, nobody should deceive us.
“If God has appointed you to be our leader in 2023, you must fear God, you must be able to provide basic necessities of life for people. That is what we are asking for, good governance.”
“I came back from Germany and I saw what they are doing there, we can do better. I was in Doha Airport and I was asking, the people that built this airport are from heaven? What kind of airport do you put for us in Muritala Airport? Even the new one they said they have built is nothing.
“You need to travel out and see what others have done. They don’t have two heads. Money that they have, we have more. I beg our leaders, for once, let us be reasonable people, let us leave something good for our children. let us plan for our children and our children’s children. I beg all of you, do something for this nation.
“Posterity will vindicate you but if you continue the way you are going, if care is not taken, people will stone you. It cost us nothing to be good. God has provided us with all that we need. Why can’t we get a better service from you?
“You are canvassing for a vote and people are seeing you after you win the election nobody will see you again. Whoever comes in 2023, we will see you by force, we will come after you, we will be talking to the press, and we will not leave you.
“If there are some promises you can’t do better don’t promise them but anyone you promise we will follow you up and ensure that you do it because you are the voice of the voiceless. If we fail to be good God will punish us,” he said.
The late Rear Admiral Ndubisi Kanu, a former Military Administrator of Lagos and Imo State, was among those who were honoured with a posthumous award of service for his excellence and contribution to the church.
Adegbite said Kanu was like a father to him since he first met him and his wife in 1996.
He said: “Late Kanu was a very good friend of mine. Though the age difference was so much the man and the wife decided to adopt me as one of their children and that has been the relationship for the last 26 years. We met in 1996 in Tinubu church and since that time it has not changed.
“I moved here, they moved with me and that is why today because of the support they have given to the diocese we are recognizing what he has done to the Lord and more that they will still do.
“My own belief is that anywhere you come from, once you are a child of God you are my brother, you are my sister and we can continue to move together. So my relationship with him has been wonderful.”
He described the deceased as a simple, unassuming, forthright and dogged man.
“Those are the traits and characters that I know I also have. He was someone that fought for democracy, and human rights and I believe in justice, fair play, and equity and those are the things he stood for while on earth and those legacies we are going to keep alive by the grace of God.”
Themed “Harvest of God’s Faithfulness” the Bishop listed many things that the church achieved in the past five years he emerged as the Bishop of the Cathedral.
“We have every reason to know that God has been faithful. In the last four years have been able to put in place four new churches.
“We have been able to expand our circuits; we now have new sections and news special areas for evangelism.
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“And apart from that, we have been able to put together a new Bishop’s house in Ikeja and it cost a fortune but the Lord has being faithful, he provided the funds and the support have been tremendous.
“And more than that, this diocese on five years has been able to produce four other Bishops which has never happened in the history of our church and one Archbishop in five years.
“So when you look at the capacity building of the ministers, five of our ministers are now postgraduate holders and to the glory of God, I also defended my PhD this year. So you see that God has been faithful to us and many other things that have happened.
“The Cathedral was not like this five years ago, there has been a lot of improvement, we now have the marble in the alter area and stain glasses. The Lord has also elevated me as the Diocesan Bishop to be the CAN in Lagos state.
“And I just came back from Germany yesterday where I have been elected by the church to represent the Methodist church in ecumenism at the world level. So, that is a great achievement to the glory of God and all wouldn’t have happened without God. And that is why we look back and we said God has been faithful,” he said.
The widow of the late military leader, Mrs Gladys Ndubuisi Kanu received the award on behalf of her husband.
Responding to the award, said her husband contributed a lot to the development of the diocese which was set up five years ago.
“The Bishop was with us in Tinubu. We have known him for 26 years. So when he was appointed the Bishop here, at every event he was doing he will invite us.
“Most of the time, my husband was very busy I will encourage him to come, even the Bishop’s wife, when she was alive, she will invite me to be in charge of everything she was doing here.
“So we kept coming, so I’m very happy that everything has gone very well with the diocese and he is doing well here. He has improved this place to the level and standard that it is now.
“My husband has encouraged a lot of people and a lot of churches. He contributed a lot to the development of this diocese. This diocese was set up five years ago, it was just a mere church and it has grown.
“When my husband died, those that I didn’t even know told me a lot that he did for them in their business through many societies that he set up. There was NADECO, Ohaneze and so many others. This award is in recognition for what he has done for this diocese.”
Officiating priests at the service include Bishop of Lagos Central, His Lordship, Rt Rev Dr. Samuel Ranford Nortey,
Among those also awarded are former Punch Managing Director, Mr Ademola Osinubi, Igbobi College, Yaba, Sir, Adebutu Kessington, Princess Adedayo Adefulu-Efunuga and many others.
Kanu died on January 13th 2021 at the age of 77 after a brief illness.
He was also an ex-administrator, a chieftain of the pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO.