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Tag: cleric

  • Cleric urges Bayelsa to clear salary arrears

    A clergyman, Rev. T. Y. Emmanuel, has urged the Bayelsa State government to clear six-month salary arrears owed workers, to avert God’s wrath.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the cleric gave the advice in Yenagoa during a church service to commemorate first anniversary of Governor Seriake Dickson’s second tenure in office.

    Emmanuel, who was the guest preacher, advised the governor to seek solace in God.

    “God is angry when you don’t pay workers. God has asked me to tell you that hired servants should be properly paid,” he said.

    The clergyman said the assignment given by God to public leadership was for a purpose and the purpose was to serve God and benefit mankind.

    Emmanuel, who titled his sermon: “Make God Your Refuge,” quoted from books in the Bible including Psalm 127, James 5:1-5 and Deuteronomy 24:14-15 to illustrate his points.

    He said it was important for the government to appreciate the essence of God’s purpose for instituting government authority for mankind.

    “When God gives a man leadership, there is an assignment he wants to fulfil. Every government is of God, though it may have human mistakes.

    “The cries of the hired servants have come to God and He has heard them. Misapplication of riches is what poses danger, we need wisdom from God to function,” the cleric added.

    Governor Dickson said his re-election for second tenure was tough, but he emerged victorious because God’s hand was upon him.

    He said his government was making efforts within the limited resources available and would take steps to enhance the welfare of its workforce.

    Dickson said the government had achieved so much in the first one year of his second term, in infrastructure, education, health and agriculture, among others.

    “Our dreams are so high that you can’t even use a ladder to see. In the midst of recession, we are building the best schools, roads and hospitals,” he said.

  • ‘God will disappoint those who wish the president death’

    ‘God will disappoint those who wish the president death’

    Apostle Daniel Aguocha of Divine Solutions With Favours Assembly, Kaduna, on Sunday led a prayer session for President Muhammadu Buhari`s sound health.

    The priest appealed to God to elongate the President`s life with good health to enable him fulfil his God-assigned assignments.

    Aguocha led the prayer during a thanks giving service in honour of Mr Charles Uka, a civil servant and a member of the Church, who turned 58 years.

    He said that no man can cut shot the life span of President Buhari until he fulfilled what God had ordained him to accomplish on earth.

    ‘‘I assure you that God shall disappoint those who wish the President death before his time.

    ‘‘God shall replenish his health and he will be with us until his time is right, ’’ he said.

    He assured Nigerians that better days lay ahead in spite of the current hardship being experienced across the nation.

    The clergy urged the people to be patient, adding that things would get better at the appointed time.

    ‘‘What is expected of us is to intensify our prayers for God to increase the strength, health and wisdom of our leaders to lead us well, ’’ he said.

    He called on parents to inculcate good habits and entrench noble character in their children, to grow and become useful to themselves, their communities and the nation.

    Uka explained that he was in the Church to thank God for keeping him thus far.

    He equally urged Nigerians to be grateful to their leaders and pray for their success for the good of all. (NAN)

  • Satisfy your wives’ minimum sexual needs, Cleric tells husbands

    The Chief Imam of Area 10 Abuja Mosque, Sheikh Yahya Al-Yolawi has advised husband to ensure satisfaction of their wives sexual needs in order to prevent immorality.
    Al-Yolawi gave the advice while during his Jumma’at Sermon titled: “ The Duties and Responsibilities of Husband and wife in Islam, “ on Friday in Abuja.
    According to him, there are certain men, who after marriage, do not satisfy the sexual needs of their wives.
    “ Such people are great sinners and will be convicted in the sight of Allah.
    “ Husbands have a duty to satisfy their wives’ minimum sexual requirements so that they may not commit a sin by eyeing other men in order to quench their thirst.
    “ Allah, the most high, has granted women the right to conjugal relations with their husbands, “ Al-Yolawi said.
    The cleric admonished husbands to value their wives and never appreciate the beauty of other woman in the present of their wives.
    “ This may lead to jealousy and suspicion in the mind of the wife. She would think that her husband has some feelings or relationship with that woman.
    “ This thought is a poison that kills matrimonial relations and should be avoided, “ he said.
    He said that in order to maintain peace and prosperity in the home, both wife and the husband should respect and take care of each other’s opinions and emotions.
    He said that the anger of husband brings to the wife nothing but tension, depression and confusion, adding that the anger of the wife brings to the husband nothing but disappointment.
    “ This can lead to mental torture, frustration and bitterness,“ he said.
    The cleric, therefore, advised couples to be patient and compassionate in their dealings and urged husbands to always express their full confidence and trust in their wives.
    “ To prove this, husbands should hand over the house keep to their wives so that they may feel dignified and involved.

    “ Prophet Muhammad said that the woman is the guardian and caretaker of her husband’s house and Almighty Allah will require an account from her in this regard on the Day of Judgment.

    “ This will give the husband an opportunity to freely think of other things regarding the promotion, growth development and progress of his career or business.“
    Similarly, the cleric urged husbands to take responsibility over financial obligations of their wives, which include dowry, feeding clothing, accommodation and general spending.
    He also appealed to those that married more than one wife to be just, fair and show equality between co-wives and treated them in a decent, kind, love and respectful manner. (NAN)

  • Cleric preaches closeness to God as mosque clocks 10

    Cleric preaches closeness to God as mosque clocks 10

    A Muslim cleric, Sheikh Mustapha Yusuf Temidire, has urged the citizenry to turn to God in prayer for divine intervention over the challenges facing the country.

    Quoting the Quran, the cleric said through supplications, God “shall be our guardian to the right path. He will surely ease our hardship”.

    He spoke in a special sermon at the 10th year anniversary of Jama’at of Temidire Salam International Central Mosque, Ikorodu, Lagos.

    Sheikh Temidire, who urged Nigerians to respect their leaders irrespective of the hardship they were facing, said: “Allah made us understand in the Holy Quran that He created all His creatures for a purpose and also among His creations he choose whom he pleases to be in high position such as the president, leader of a community, commissioner and others (Suratul Qasas V 68).

    “As the situation of Nigeria is that everyone is feeling hardship, the only way out of the problem, according to the Quran, is to run back to Almighty Allah, pray to him and he shall be our guardian to the right path. He will surely ease our hardship. During the lifetime of Prophet Shuiab (peace be upon him) in Modyan city, he advised his people then not to backbite and avoid all evil such as killing, embezzling and others this can be seen in (Suratul Aaraf V 73)

    “Therefore, the only way out of the problems in Nigeria today is prayer as we all know that “prayer is the master key.”

    He counselled leaders that they occupied positions of trust and they would be accountable to God.

    The cleric said: “However, whoever Almighty Allah Has appointed the leader or the head of a state should execute his or her leadership as it is laid in the Holy Quran.

    “According to the Quran ‘surely Allah commands you to make over trust to their owners and that when you judge between people, you judge with justice, surely Allah admonishes you with his excellence. Allah is all seeing and Hearing (Suratul Nisai V 58)’.

    “This noble verse of the holy Quran makes us to know that for you to be a leader, you have to be trustworthy, dependable, loyal and faithful to your people, and these has to begin with your family and neighbourhoods and the justice that is well welcomed by Almighty Allah. And this is what we can see with the administration of our president and his subordinates. They are firm with Allah’s commandments…”).

    He explained that the mosque has been offering special prayers to God to ease the hardship facing the citizenry.

    According to him, the mosque was founded on November 1, 2006, “on the basic tenets of Islam that must be observed as can be found in the holy Quran in Suratul Baqarah verse 177, which states and I quote ‘it is not righteousness that you turn your face east or west but to believe in Allah, the last day, the angels, the book and the messengers”.

    Its members, the cleric said, also spent part of their wealth out of love for God on not only their families, “but on the orphans, the travellers and the beggars”.

    In obedient to God, he said, his members “are steadfast in prayers and give Zakat, fulfil all contractual obligations, are firm and patient under any circumstances and God-fearing’.

    “This is Islam code of conduct, which must be observed before ever practising the five daily prayers to qualify to be called a Muslim.  This is our guiding principle in this society called Temidire Salam International Central Mosque and that is what is lacking in our society today. We Nigerians are neither our brother’s keeper nor God-fearing, including our so called leaders.

    “We do not limit ourselves to just preaching and propagating the cause of Islam, we award scholarships to indigent students and those that excel in our Annual Quran competitions to cover both their western and Islam education, irrespective of whether they are our members or not and whether they attend private or public schools or class,”  Sheikh Temidire said.

  • Righteousness ’ll restore Nigeria’s glory, says cleric

    Senior Pastor of Grace Family International Church, Lagos State, Rev Yinka Ojo, has called on Nigerians to be righteous for the nation’s glory to be restored.
    He spoke at the men’s conference of the church recently.
    Righteousness, according to him, will also enable Nigerians to carry out His purpose and will for the nation.
    He assured that Nigerians should expect a new beginning in their lives if the nation could do the Lord’s commandments.
    He noted the men’s conference with the theme Commanded drawn from Joshua 1:9 is a clear indication God will bring restoration to those prepared to do as He has commanded.
    Stressing that God was up to doing something big in the nation, Ojo said that only those who listen to His commandments will however enjoy them.
    He appealed to Nigerians to be compassionate, merciful, meek, humble, spiritual, holy, self-denying and forbearing.
    According to him: “For a better society, Nigerians must begin to think in a new way, they must see themselves as belonging to the Joshua generation by taking responsibilities for themselves and possessing their possession, which the Lord had made available for them.”
    He charged the men to be leaders of proven integrity and track record as heads of their families.
    The cleric challenged them to provide leadership worthy of emulation.
    He also tasked them to ensure high morale in their household and maintain the good image of the families in particular and the nation in general.
    The annual conference featured music ministrations, lectures, novelty football match, free health check-up and thanksgiving service.

  • Cleric advises govt on self reliance for youths

    The Pastor in charge of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Mountain of Mercy (Oke Erio), Erio Ekiti, Prophet Sam Olu-Alo, has said making youths  to be self reliant through financial assistance is one sure way to a peaceful society.

    Olu- Alo warned the authorithies to discourage a system in which  youths depend on government for survival; rather, govrnment should design programmes, projects and policies that would empower youths and promote their potential.

    The cleric spoke at his Ido Ekiti home town during the maiden edition of his yearly empowerment scheme for students and artisans, incorporated into his yearly evangelical programme, Ido/Osi open air crusade,

    He said: “If youths are empowered and developed in a manner they can stand on their own without relying on governments, a chunk of the economic problems of the country would have been solved.”

    In a message entitled: ‘Come, let us rebuild the wall’, Olu-Alo charged youths to “be determined, creative, enterprising and  deemphasise the craze for white-collar jobs” to bail themselves and the nation out of the present economic recession.

    He advised them to have a vision of growth and work towards the realisation of such, adding that they should as a matter of necessity return to God and for a bond to help one another.

    At the event, the cleric bankrolled WASCCE fees for 15 brilliant but indigent candidates. He equally empowered five other artisans by paying for the purchase of their necessary equipment/tools and take-off of their businesses, a step, which he described as part of his contribution to lift the society through investment in youths.

    Olu-Alo also distributed food items to over 200 widows in Ido Ekiti his hometown.

    He challenged Nigerians to join the campaign to combat  hunger and other social vices, saying it is the responsibility of all to put the state back on track.

    Olu-Alo who expressed optimism at the nation’s economic and  social recovery, implored President Muhammadu Buhari to take advice from men of vision to steer the ship back on course.

    “There is light at the end of the tunnel.It will be well with Nigeria if the proper things are done. Nigerians should forsake their sins, return to God and pray for the restoration of the country. I can see hope and bright future for Nigeria,” the cleric said.

  • Cleric jailed for reckless driving

    A pastor, Kehinde Bamisile, who  damaged the car of a lecturer, Dr Kayode Ariyo, in Ekiti State, has been jailed for 18 months.

    The 53-year-old cleric at the Akure, Ondo State-based World Soul Winning Evangelical Ministry (WOSEM), hit Ariyo’s Mercedes Benz C200 car while being pursued by police and members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), for allegedly carrying passengers along Ikere-Iju road without permission on June 16, 2016.

    He resorted to speeding on a narrow road but lost control and swerved into Ariyo’s car in the oncoming lane.

    Magistrate O. Lawal of the Ikere-Ekiti Judicial Division, who pronounced him guilty of gross traffic misconduct, also ordered the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to withdraw his driver’s licence and not issue or renew it for 36 months.

    Ariyo, a chief lecturer and Head of the Department of Languages, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo in Ondo State, said he spent over N300, 000 to repair his damaged car.

    However, Magistrate Lawal, refrained from awarding cost for damages. He gave Ariyo the option of seeking redress in the high court, if interested in claiming damages.

    He, however, gave Bamisile a N5,000 fine option.

  • Help the poor, cleric urges

    Help the poor, cleric urges

    Pastor Tola Kasali of the Foundation of Truth Assembly (FOTA), Surulere, Lagos, has called on well-meaning Nigerians to support the poor in order to reduce their suffering as a result of the current economic hardship.

    He said the poor were always the vulnerable ones during any economic downturn. He made the call when FOTA donated food items, toiletries and cloths to children, youths and the aged at the church premises in Lagos.  He said the items would be of importance to them during the festive period.

    The cleric added that giving to the poor was more gratifying, noting that Jesus Christ fed the poor consistently. He further explained that abundant rewards await those who took care of the poor.

    He said: “We have been giving to the poor over the years. They need cloths, medical attention; food and need to be made happy, particularly at festive periods. That is why the church conducted test on various ailments to ascertain the condition of the poor with a view to helping them.

    “Their conditions have been made critical because of the prevailing economic situation. In our own little way, we are poised to put bread on their table, so that they can be happy during the festivals. If Christ was to be around today, he will definitely spend Christmas with the poor not at the palaces of the kings.”

    The cleric called on the government to encourage corporate organisations to come to the aid of the poor through reduction of the tax they pay. He said this will enable them to carry out their corporate social responsibilities effectively.

    “Tax reduction will encourage multi-nationals to give charity to those who need support.  If they pay less tax, they will have money at their disposal to support the needy.

    “I must point out that poverty is the cause of the increase in the level of crime in the society. The higher the poverty level, the higher is the crime rate. The truth is that when the crime rate is high, people cannot go to sleep. The so-called rich men will find it difficult to have peace.

    “I urge our wealthy men to look in the direction of the poor. Therefore, government needs to put in place policies that would encourage humanitarian efforts.  The rich men have cloths and other materials they don’t use. They should donate them to the poor instead of allowing them to waste away.

    “We should encourage people in our churches, mosques and communities to shun materialism and donate to the poor who need them to survive. There is so much greed in the country and it is not helping the society in any form. If we shun greed, the society will be better and people will be happy,” he said.

     

  • Cleric seeks price control board

    Cleric seeks price control board

    Founder of One Love Family sect Satguru Maharaji ji has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to constitute a price control board to ameliorate the impact of recession on Nigerians.
    He told reporters in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, that a price control mechanism would strengthen the naira.
    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sect leader spoke at a briefing to mark his 69th birthday.
    “We need to protect the value of our naira through banning some luxury goods not vital to people’s lives.
    “The protection is important. Our government should reduce the price of cement to N300 to enable the country build homes for its people and if need be, government should empower Nigerians to import cement to bring prices down.
    “The Nigeria Airways should be revived with the old buildings and structures rehabilitated for the country to compete with small nations with notable airlines,” the sect leader said.
    He called for a reduction in air fares for local travels to a flat rate of N15,000.

  • Philanthropy: Cleric rewarded in Port Harcourt

    Philanthropy: Cleric rewarded in Port Harcourt

    The Arewa Ambassadors Congress of Nigeria (AACN) made history in Port Harcourt recently as they shunned politicians, money bags and even other religious leaders to present award to the Anglican Bishop of Niger Delta North, Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey.

    Presenting the 2016 Arewa Leadership Award on Humanitarian Service to Kattey, the President of AACN Ambassador Esinrogunjo Musbau said: “We don’t believe in politicians because they have disappointed the people over the years.”

    Musbau said the award entitled “Icon of Hope/Philanthropist of our Time” was given to Kattey because “we want to build bridges and the unity of this country is paramount to us.”

    He also said they chose Kattey because he has integrity and besides “we want the North to be free when they are in the East and we want the East to be free when they are in the North.”

    The AACN President, who is vying for the chairmanship of his Ilorin West Local Government Area in Kwara State under the All Progressives Congress (APC) also explained that his group whose membership is drawn from 19 Northern states did not know the Anglican Cleric intimately but “we only heard of your services to humanity and that is why we have come to present this award to you.”

    Musbau, who stressed on oneness of Nigeria, also stated that “our slogan is unity and we preach unity everywhere we go,” pointing out that “if we enjoy peace and unity, everyone would be better for it.”

    He also revealed that the nomination of Kattey at their congress sailed through without hitch which is why about 11 members of the group, some of who had not been to Port Harcourt before, were sent to come and confer the award on the Anglican cleric.

    Responding, Kattey informed that the award was the 4th he has received on humanitarian services since last year.

    He also revealed that in the letter informing him of the award, the group stated that “the honour is a testimony of your courage, unwavering support, kind disposition, commitment to serve Nigerian citizens and unfailing love which you have shown both at your state and Nigeria at large in time past and till date.”

    While expressing gratitude to AACN for the award, Kattey also advised that since their “overall objective is to promote peace and sustainable development within Northern Nigeria,” they have to embark on re-orientation and building of confidence among themselves.

    Additionally, he told the group that even though they are all young people, they should shun “impatience, get-rich quick syndrome, cultism and kidnapping.”

    While also decrying the global crises which are taking a chunk of human population, Kattey urged everyone to return to God in fasting and prayer as well as to stand for truth “against evils of our time.”

    He further prayed that “no tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, peril or killings separate us from the love of God.”

    In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr Emeka Ichoku said he was surprised when he learnt that the Anglican Bishop was to be conferred with an award by AACN.

    Ichoku said he initially thought it was because Kattey schooled in ABU Zaria, Kaduna State but later found out that it was “because of the Bishop’s humanitarian services which has even transcended beyond Nigeria.”

    Ichoku, who is also the Chancellor of the Church, expressed hope that the award would “serve as a bridge between our Muslim brothers in the North and us because we all serve one God.”