The Chairman of the Lagos Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria Bishop Sola Ore has said the National body of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria is understudying the Commercial and Allied Matters Acts and would take appropriate steps in days to come.
Earlier the legal adviser of the PFN, Mr. Tomi Vincent had told Church Times the only available option for the PFN was to challenge the act in a law court adding also that the government had the capacity to implement the law. He was responding to Bishop Oyedepo’s position that his church would not be subject to the law.
Ore, however, said the PFN would certainly look at the option and work out modalities on how to go about it. He stressed that Vincent’s position was in his capacity as a lawyer and does not in any way represent the views of Lagos PFN.
“Vincent though the legal director of Lagos PFN spoke in his capacity as a lawyer and was not speaking the mind of the Lagos PFN. The CAMA is a national matter. Only the national PFN can comment on it authoritatively. The idea of going to court or not still has to be done by the national PFN and perhaps CAN” he said.
He expressed regret that the bill which had taken years of debate and public hearing was eventually passed into law. “I think the challenge arose because our voice was not strong enough in presenting our own side during the public hearing. But this is not to blame anybody. We are certainly going to look at the option of challenging it in a law court.”
He then advised that church leaders should be calm and go about their callings. “We are not called to strife. Our duty as church leaders is to ensure that the right things are done and that those we are leading do not see us as renegades. At the same time we are not going to allow the government to delve into the matter it knows little about.”
On his own position about CAMA he said, “it is easy to compare Nigeria with the UK when it suits the government. But the question is, is the government in Nigeria behaving the way the UK government behaving? Nobody is saying the church is afraid of scrutiny. I am one of those who go against manipulation and financial recklessness in the church.
“So it is not about not wanting to open our books to the public. What we are saying is that spiritual matters sometimes are not what could be subjected to debate. Personally, I will lead a crusade against fraudulent pastors who take advantage of the people.
“But then we can’t allow undue meddlesomeness in the way the church is being run. That is the area we may have to challenge in the law court. Whatever control we are talking about, the church is well-positioned to control itself.”
Ore also called on Church leaders for cooperation. “It is sad that when we call our people for meetings some of them don’t show up. As we speak some churches are not active in the PFN. It is when there is a crisis they realize they have a body that can speak for them. I recall during the time of the public hearing of the CAMA the response from church leaders was not too encouraging. But then, the situation can still be salvaged.” He said.
