Tribune Delta at 22: Public office thieves were thieves from cradle —Oritsejafor Written by Ebenezer Adurokiya-Warri Wednesday, 28 August 2013 00:00 Fiery preacher and current president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has lashed out at public holders who steal public funds, saying they were thieves right from the cradle. This is just as he stated that because he picks his calls himself, he had, at various times, received threat calls from members of the Boko Haram sect as well as dying victims of their bloody insurgencies. The presiding pastor of Word of Life Bible Church worldwide made these assertions during the interdenominational thanksgiving service held on Tuesday at the auditorium of the Living Faith Bible Church (Winners Chapel), Water Resources Road, Effurun, Delta State to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of Delta State. Papa Oritsejafor, who mounted the pulpit at exactly 11.48 a.m, admonished political leaders to emulate the character of the biblical Daniel, who despite all odds (opposition antics), achieved his goals as a prudent administrator. Taking his scriptural reading from Daniel 6:16&17 on the theme, “Power of Thanksgiving,” the cleric highlighted the attributes of Daniel as those of being prudent and faithful with money, gracious with power and position as well as being effective and efficient with his assigned role. According to him, public office holders especially, should desist from stealing public funds, saying in pidgin: “some people think say na money dey make people craze, na lie; dey don dey craze for inside, money just bring out the craze,” he noted, while observing why many Nigerians are usually drunk with money. The immediate former president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigerian (PFN), who enjoined Nigerians to learn to thank God not only over what He has done, but for what they are believing God to do, informed the congregation of his encounter with members of the Boko Haram sect, who had threatened him on phone because of his strong stance against the activities of the sect. “I answer my own calls. I don’t give my phones to my aides to pick for me. Boko Haram had once called me. I picked their calls. I fear God; no man can intimidate me; dey never born dem. I may not know people’s numbers, but I pick them. So when I shout, I know why I’m shouting,” the man of God retorted. Meanwhile, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State,, during his remark, admonished politicians jostling for the post of the Delta Central Senatorial seat to mellow down and play the game by the rules. He appreciated the host pastor of the church, Pastor Theophilus Makanjuola, for reducing the number of street urchins in the state through his conversion of over 200 of them, whom he said, were undergoing scriptural training to be better citizens of the state. Uduaghan stated that at 22, Delta State had fared well in the areas of development and maintenance of peace and security, saying the state, which was associated with violence before, had become the toast of investors and other states in the country. Dignitaries present at the occasion included the deputy governor, Professor Amos Utuama; speaker of the state House of Assembly, Honorable Victor Ochei; Commissioner of Poverty Alleviation, Dr Antonia Asheidu, other government functionaries, Christian leaders, traditional leaders, among others.
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 09:45:58 +0000
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