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  • Walking in financial dominion!

    Welcome to another impactful week. I hope you were blessed by last week teaching. Today, we shall focus on: Walking in Financial Dominion!

    We discover from scriptures, among others, that every child of God is ordained to walk in financial dominion.  As it is written, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9; see also Deuteronomy 8:18; 3 John 1:2). It is important to note that the end-time church is ordained for financial dominion. As it is written, And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:2-3). In addition, according to Haggai, God will be unleashing financial fortune upon the end-time church.  It is written, The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts… (Haggai 2:8-9). Furthermore, God swore to Abraham, in response to the attempted sacrifice of his son on mount Moriah, That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice (Genesis 22:17-18). If, according to scriptures, every child of God is a seed of Abraham; then, we are ordained to walk in financial dominion (Galatians 3:29). Finally, prominent among the blessings of the law is financial dominion. As it is written, …and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath… (Deuteronomy 28:12-13).

    How then can we walk in Financial Dominion?

    • Be Born Again: Every blessing in the Kingdom can only flow to us when we are saved. In other words, the salvation of our souls is the access key to the realm of financial dominion. The Bible says that Christ was slain to receive for us power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing (Revelation 5:12).
    • Engage the Covenant of Seedtime and Harvest: The covenant of seedtime and harvest is a sure way to our financial dominion. However, it is important to understand that the Kingdom of God is that of order. Thus, in order to enjoy financial blessings, our offerings must be sown in this order:
    • Tithing: This is the giving of 10% of the totality of our earnings to God. This does not belong to us; it is God’s portion which He must not be denied of. It is the capital demand for access to an open heaven and the master key to a world of financial fortune. As it is written, Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Malachi 3:10). We must understand that any sacrifice can bring us to any level of blessing, but only our tithes can preserve it. This is because when we don’t tithe, the devourer is guaranteed access.
    • Worship Offering: We are admonished not to come into God’s presence empty-handed. It is written, Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee (Deuteronomy 16:16-17).
    • Kingdom Promotion Giving: This is giving for the furtherance of the Kingdom. The Bible says, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33; see also Haggai 1:3-14).
    • Giving to Parents: We tap into the blessings in our parents’ hearts when we bring them venison such as they love. We provoke the release of blessings from their hearts like Isaac poured his heart out to bless Jacob. The Word of God instructs us to honour our fathers and mothers in the Lord that it might be well with us; financial blessing inclusive (Genesis 27:3, 25-29; Exodus 20:12).
    • Giving to Spiritual Parents: Our spiritual parents also constitute a platform for the release of covenant blessings. We tap into the patriarchal blessings through giving to our spiritual parents (Ephesians 6:1-2; 1 Corinthians 4:15).
    • Giving to the Poor: Giving to the needy around us is a platform that empowers us for financial dominion (Job 29:4-12; Proverbs 28:27, 19:17).

    In summary, Christ, our perfect example was and is the Master Giver. He gave and gave until He gave His life; a living sacrifice indeed! This must be why He commanded such a dimension of financial dominion while he walked the planet earth (Matthew 17:26-27; Mark 4:39-41, 14:13-16; John 13:27-29). However, as mentioned earlier, new birth is the only access we have to walking in financial dominion. Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me! Now, I know I am born again! For further reading, please get my books: Understanding Financial Prosperity, Breaking Financial Hardship, Winning the War against Poverty, Hidden Covenants of Blessing and Covenant Wealth. I invite you to fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280, or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org, Facebook: David Oyedepo Ministries International, Twitter: @DavidOyedepoMin.

  • Attention: Interior Minister

    A recent investigative report titled Agony, despair: Many tales of Nigerian child prisoners by a journalist, Ameh Elekwonyilo, should be of interest to the Minister of Interior, Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, and other concerned organisations.

    The report, which was supported by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) Abuja, is a harrowing account of why the recent name change by the Nigerian Prisons Service to the Nigerian Correctional Service should be matched with concrete action to ensure that prisons in the country don’t remain overcrowded with long list of awaiting trial inmates, particularly child prisoners languishing in detention.

    Following the visits to prisons/remand homes in Minna, Kaduna, Markurdi and Port Harcourt, the reporter gave a heart rending account of children in chains and all manner of deprivations contrary to the child rights act.

    What the 2003 Child’s Rights Act of Nigeria provides for children offenders in Part Two Section 11 of the law is that “Every child is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person and accordingly, no child shall be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treating or punishment, held in slavery or servitude, while in care of a parent, legal guardian or school authority or any other person or authority having the care of the child.”

    What the reporter found was a total disregard for the above provision.

    “Since I came to this prison in February 2018, my education came to an end. You can see that my mother and little sibling who is just twelve months old are also being held here for the same alleged offences. Our condition here is unbearable. The most painful part of our situation at the Suleja prison is the fact that I cannot go to school. Does that mean our lives are over?” Happiness, one of the children interviewed, wondered.

    As much as the prison officials, the courts and others would want to abide by the provisions of the act, the report confirmed that they are overwhelmed by lack of necessary resources and personnel.

    “We are overwhelmed by the challenges of difficulty of conveying the children to court during the hearing of their suits. Most of these inmates have not been to court for trial for the past two years. Also, the approved school which is supposed to provide education and skills for the children has since closed down due to lack of resources to run the school.

    “Our mandate is hampered by the lack of resources like mobility to convey the inmates to court for trial. We lack water and electricity here as you can see. Our school lacks teachers, and therefore, it’s not functioning. So, how do we cater for the needs of transforming these inmates into better citizens?” two officials asked.

    According to the trial magistrate at the Rivers State Juvenile Court, Mrs. Ibiere Foby, an ideal family court should have a magistrate and two assessors to hear and determine suits concerning children who come in conflict with the law, but that is not the case.

    Instead of allowing the present deplorable situation to persist, there is an urgent need to heed the call of the Executive Director of PRAWA, Dr. Uju Agomoh, for sustainable intervention by both the government and private individuals to reposition these homes for better service delivery.

    Adequate facilities must be provided while the child rights act is applied for child offenders. The cases of those being currently held should be urgently reviewed and not allowed to suffer unnecessarily.

    We cannot afford to allow our reform and correctional services centres become places for raising hardened criminals, some of whom are innocent of the offences for which they are held.

  • Fire guts WHO vaccination storage facility

    World Health Organisation (WHO) vaccination storage facility at the Ayegbaju Market in Osogbo, was on Saturday razed by fire, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    According to a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) official, Ajinase Alade, attached to the facility, the fire started from a working power generator close to the WHO storage facility.

    “The fire started at about 12:13p.m from one of the power generator that was on to power the building where vaccines were stored.

    ” We quickly move to remove the cars packed close to the fire and mobilised to put out the fire.

    “But unfortunately, my motorcycle packed closed to the storage facility was, however, burnt by the fire while helping to remove the cars,” he said.

    Mrs Adeosun Adebola, the Osun WHO Immunisation Officer and State Cold Vaccine Coordinator told NAN that the cold vaccine storage office was not affected by the fire but the dry vaccine outlet was razed by fire.

    She said a 60KVA generator, one 12KVA generator and two 18 KVA generators were also affected.

    Adebola also said two photocopier machines and two motorcycles were also destroyed by the fire.

    “I61,795 pieces of 0.05ml needles and syringe , 633,871 pieces of 0.5ml needles and syringe, 10,575 pieces of 5ml needles and syringe, 3,976 pieces of 2ml needles and syringe were destroyed by the fire.

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    ” 8,654 pieces of immunisation safety boxes were also destroyed by the fire,” she said.

    Adebola told NAN the officials of the state government and WHO officials had been to the incident site to assess the level of damage done by the fire.

    A maintenance official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they applied self effort to put out the fire from affecting and spreading to other buildings and stores within the market.

    He said the state fire service were contacted when the fire started but they had to quickly fetched water from the storex water tank around, some other people also helped to put out the fire before the fire service came.

    “But unfortunately the storage facility was completely razed, ” he said.

    Men of the state fire service could, however, be seen going through the remains of the fire to ensure the fire was completely put out.

  • Insecurity: 27 bandits renounce banditry in Niger

    Twenty-Seven bandits have renounced kidnapping and banditry and have been granted amnesty in Niger state.

    The Niger state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello presented the bandits during the second General Abdulsalam Abubakar foundation annual peace lecture in Minna.

    He said that they have signed a peace pact with the bandits who are from kontokoro in Magama local government area.

    “Here I present to you, these men, whatever name you want to call them, we have engaged in dialogue with them, they have mentioned their grievances and we have tried our best to meet some of them.

    “To this end, we have signed a peace pact with them and we are ready to enforce our side of the fact. They are also ready to respect their part of the pact.”

    The Governor then said that dialogue is ongoing with bandits in Erena, Rafi and Kontagora local governments to ensure peace in the state.

    He stressed on the need to use dialogue as a way to promote peace in the nation stating that military solution is not the best way of resolving crisis.

    “Military solution is not always the best way of resolving crisis. Dialogue provides for a win-win situation. We need to use dialogue more as a way to promote peace in the nation and there is no need for military solution.”

    Read Also: Air Force neutralises several terrorists in Borno

    The Governor emphasized the need for eminent Nigerians to lead the way out of the insecurity crisis bedevilling the nation lamenting that no region is safe in Nigeria today.

    “We cannot continue this way. No region in the country is safe today, these violent conflicts have destructive effects on the very fabrics that hold our nation together and must be dealt with utmost sincerity.

    “The experience so far shows that finding lasting solution to the violent conflict situation rests squarely in our soldiers. There is too little for members of the international community to do towards helping us.

    “I like to use this lecture to make appeals to the eminent persons in different parts of he country to come up with suggestions on how best we can reduce tensions around the country. Nobody would do it for us better than ourselves.”

  • Five wedding guests die, several injured In Ekiti accident

    No fewer than five people have lost their lives in an accident along Ado-Akure Road Ekiti State on Saturday.

    Several others were reported to have sustained various degrees of injuries.

    The accident, which involved an 18-seater white Toyota hummer bus with registration number Ekiti LG 05 MUE, occured around 5pm.

    The bus belonging to Ekiti State Market Women, which was reportedly conveying some guests from a wedding reception was said to have suffered brake failure.

    While three of the occupants were said to have died on the spot, two among the injured persons rushed to Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti for medical attention died owing to the severity of the injuries sustained.

    Read Also: Five die in Lagos-Ibadan Expressway accident

    Multiple sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity with The Nation, said the driver of the bus which was on high speed lost control following which the vehicle somersaulted several times.

    According to the sources, three occupants of the bus died on the spot while others sustained injuries.

    They said: “The injured occupants of the vehicle have been taken to hospital for medical attention while the remains of the three dead persons have also been evacuated to the morgue.

    A source at the EKSUTH alleged that “two of the injured occupants rushed for medical attention had died.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Caleb Ikechukwu, who confirmed the accident, said: “It was a lone fatal accident. Three persons were confirmed dead while others sustained various degrees of injuries”.

    According to Ikechukwu, it was alleged by some eyes witnesses that the driver was driving on a high speed, so he lost control of the vehicle and it somersaulted for a number of times”.

    The police spokesperson confirmed that the injured person had been moved to hospital for treatment and the dead to the morgue.

  • Bayelsa PDP convenes stakeholders’ meeting

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has scheduled an expanded meeting of the State Caucus of the party and the Elders Advisory Council for 4pm on Sunday.

    Read Also: No division in Bayelsa PDP, says Diri

    The state party Chairman, Cleopas Moses, said the meeting would discuss the issue of the preparedness of the party for the election, strategies, approval of the campaign council and team and other topical issues.

    “The meeting will also receive a brief from the party’s candidate, Senator Douye Diri, on the issue of running mate,” he said.

  • Oshoala scores brace in Barcelona rout

    Asisat Oshoala ended her three-match goal drought in the Spanish Primera Iberdrola this season with a brace in Barcelona’s 6-1 comeback thrashing of Atletico Madrid.

    Saturday’s encounter was the fourth for the three-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year in all competitions this season after her stunning pre-season form, netting eight goals in five games.

    After being denied by the woodwork this season, the Nigeria international scored in both halves to ensure Lluis Cortes’ ladies bounced back from a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano in style.

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    The 24-year-old broke her Primera Iberdrola duck this term with a calm finish as she scored the hosts’ fourth goal of the game on the brink of half time.

    Two minutes after the restart, the Super Falcons star grabbed her second of the match to make it 5-1 for Barcelona before being replaced by Claudia Pina in the 73rd minute.

    Her brace means she has now scored 21 goals in 19 matches in all competitions for Barcelona since she teamed up with the Spanish giants in January.

    The win helped Barcelona return to the summit of the log with seven points from three matches and they host Juventus in the Champions League Round of 32 reserve fixture on Wednesday.

  • CAN lauds El-Rufai’s decision to save 110-year-old Church from demolition

    The Kaduna State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has commended Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s government’s decision to safe the 110-year-old St. George Anglican Church, Zaria from demolition.

    The CAN Chairman in the State, Rev. Joseph Hayab made the commendation on Saturday following Friday’s clarification by the Director-General of the Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA), Ismail Dikko that the Church won’t be touched because of its historical value.

    The Nation learnt that KASUPDA had served the 110-year-old St. George Anglican Church, Sabon Gari, Zaria, the seven-day quit notice which it claimed was a directive from governor Nasir El-Rufai.

    Following Thursday’s alarm raised by the CAN, the KASUPDA’s boss reversed the eviction order on the Church.

    “The Church will remain base on its historical value…while the market source for expansion elsewhere,” the DG had said.

    The CAN Chairman commended the state government for listening to the yearnings of the people by reversing its earlier decision to halt any demolition plan on the church.

    Hayab noted that democracy could thrive only when government harken to the cry of the people it governs.

    The CAN leader said, “We commend the government for this act. What we are saying is that govt should remain a listening government. Democracy thrives when government listens to the people but when government don’t listen to people, people think negatively about every action it takes.

    “What we are doing is simply to remind government that we are not at war with them. We are just raising alarm; we are just another added eyes for them to see and know what is happening to people.

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    “So, if they do good, we will clap for them but if they don’t, we will tell them that something is wrong and that people are crying.”

    The chairman, however, pleaded that the DG’s reversed order be documented for future references.

    He said, “but we want to quickly draw their attention to three things – that our cry about the quit notice and the clarification or response on it shows that the DG knows about it and therefore not made. It was a true quit notice.

    “We want them to document the response by the DG so that their officials when they come in future, we will show them the document by them. So that it won’t just be a mere paper statement. If they do that, we will appreciate them.

    “The last one which we feel strongly about is when they said we don’t have valid document; we are saying probably, they have not checked their records well. But we have already instructed the Church that by Monday or Tuesday, they should go with their valid documents to reconcile so that in the future, we will not be saying someone is wrong when in the real sense, he is right.”

  • I won’t resign, daring Bayelsa Speaker tells Dickson, others

    Bayelsa Speaker, Tonye Isenah, has vowed not to resign his position contrary to the directive of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders including Governor Seriake Dickson.

    Isenah came under intense pressure to relinquish his office in the House of Assembly to enable his party balance political equations ahead of the November 16 governorship election.

    The speaker was said to have reached an agreement with Dickson and other PDP leaders to vacate his office in the event that Senator Douye Diri, who hails from his Kolokuma-Opokuma Local Government Area, emerged the candidate of the PDP for the election.

    Following the emergence of Diri, PDP leaders were said to have asked Isenah to surrender his position to another lawmaker from Southern Ijaw to enable the party garner votes from the council.

    But Isenah was said to have insisted that he would not let go of his position before the governorship poll.

    The Speaker in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Aotendeike Boloigha, said he had served the PDP faithfully and had yet to see how his resignation would help the party in the forthcoming poll.

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    He also denied the insinuations that Dickson was after him because he failed to carry out the governor’s request to initiate an impeachment proceeding against his Deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd).

    Isenah was compelled to officially react on the matter following a social media post by his Senior Special Assistant in New Media, Mr. Dickson Didi Opuene, that the speaker was undergoing the travail for refusing the governor’s request.

    Opuene in the post that went viral wrote: ““First they asked him to impeach the deputy governor for no just reason and he refused, now they want him to resign just to perfect their aim and plan. No way, he will not resign, they should come and impeach him and lets see.

    “Rt. Hon. Tonye Emmanuel Isenah remains the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and he has not resigned or will ever contemplate of doing so, please disregard any rumour of his resignation”.

    Debunking Opuene’s claims, Isenah described the posts as generated and authored by over ambitious politicians taking advantage of the present situation in the assembly.

    Isenah said the claims were not only untrue but misleading and aimed at heating up the system.

    He said at no time had the governor imagined anything relating to impeachment of his deputy, whom he constantly described as a dependable ally adding that Dickson had never given such directive to the assembly.

    He said: “My stand on the issue of resignation has been that I have served the party PDP and  Govermor Seriake Dickson faithfully and with unflinching loyalty and I will not resign as doing so at this time will not in anyway help the party succeed in the November 16, governorship elections.

    “I call on my teeming supporters to distance  themselves from making unnecessary statements and posts in the social media. When the need arises, I will make official statements on his stand”.

  • We’ll retake Adamawa in 2023, APC vows

    Stakeholders of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State have taken stock of how the party lost the state in the 2019 election due to disunity and resolved to put the past behind them and take back the state in 2023.

    The stakeholders came out of a reconciliatory meeting in Yola on Friday night saying they had learnt their lessons and would henceforth work together for the success of the party at all levels.

    A former member of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, and Hajia Aisha Buhari’s brother, Ahmed Halilu (Mudi) had been bitterly against Sen Mohammed Jibrilla (Bindow) after Bindow as the state governor at the time, won the APC governorship primary which Ribadu and Mudi discredited.

    The two rejected Bindow’s candidacy up to the general election and were believed to have worked against Bindow at the election, a development believed to have contributed greatly to the failure of Bindow and of course the APC at the election.

    Ribadu who attended the Adamawa State APC Steering Committee/State Exco/Stakeholders Reconciliatory Meeting of Friday night, stressed that the intra-party conflict which cost the party the chance of retaining the state at the 2019 governorship election would never occur again.

    “Never again will we let that happen,” he said during a review remark at the end of the meeting.

    The meeting was the first in what may be a series of similar meetings following the constitution of a 39-member Central Steering Committee of the APC to reconcile misgivings and reposition the party for future success.

    Ribadu said, “We are here saying enough is enough. We will work together, we will never allow anything to come between us that will affect our fortunes and the fortunes of our party.

    “APC is a progressive party, our opponents are conservatives. It was so unfortunate that we were not guided in the past as a result of which our political enemies benefitted.”

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    Urging a demonstration of the new resolve in the council-level elections scheduled for the state in November, Ribadu said, “It will never happen again in Adamawa. We have an election coming, the local government election. We intend to do it properly and fairly and we will not allow anybody to cheat us again.

    “We have all assembled here, all the leaders of the party from the local government to state levels. We have all resolved to work together for the victory of our party.”

    Earlier in his remark, chairman of the APC Steering Committee and one time Minister of Defence and Internal Affairs respectively, Abdurrahman Adamu, said that disturbed by the lingering precarious relationship among members of the party, elders took the gauntlet to restore sanity and orderliness after the party waded through misunderstanding for a long time.

    Also speaking, Adamawa State APC chairman, Ibrahim Bilal said with the resolve of the elders of the party to address grievances within the party, APC in Adamawa has become well organised, strengthened and ready to take the state by storm.

    The Chairman Sub-Committee on Reconciliation, Dahiru Bobbo, said his committee was delegated to reconcile aggrieved members and put the party on the threshold of prosperity.