The traditional leader of Ota in Ogun, Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi AbdulKabir Obalanlege, has tasked the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on tolerance, fairness and peaceful coexistence.
The traditional leader said this during the inauguration of the new CAN executive, Ota Central Local Government Area Chapter, on Tuesday.
The royal father said the association needed to imbibe the spirit of oneness among the denominations and the larger society.
“As you are inaugurating new executive, we want you to imbibe the spirit of oneness, fairness to all and encourage peaceful coexistence among the people in the community,” he said.
“The security of life and property is paramount, we should be conscious of our environment and be sensitive to any occurrence likely to bring breach of peace,” he said.
In his remarks, Dr Emmanuel Adekunle, Ogun CAN Chairman, urged the new executive to carry everybody along with their decisions to ensure unity.
“They should just carry everybody along and being on the same page as CAN and as a body of Christ is concerned.
“So, we thank God for those who have been elected, selected, appointed to serve, and we believe that they will be loyal to the things of God.
“There have been people who have been doing it earlier than now, so, the new people that are coming must let people know that these are the new sets of officers for this local government.
“We should acquaint ourselves with the people at the grassroots and be good ambassadors of God,” he said.
Adekunle noted that the association had been impactful to the society in many ways in terms of capacity building and empowerment.
“This association has been impactful because we have a lot of things that we received in the past that will benefit the people, not just the church, but the larger people.
“We preach sermon, talk about the word of God, talk about the security of the state, and the health of the members.
“So, it’s part of the benefit of coming to the people, though we are at the state level, the voice will also pass to the people at the grassroots.
“We are doing this not only for the Christians but for the community at large.
“So, all our programmes are part of reaching out to the grassroots as the role of the church not just bring money, but we are now disseminating information about their welfare and their well-being ,” Adekunle said.
Rev. Michael Akinboro, the newly inaugurated CAN Chairman, Ota Branch, in his opening remarks thanked God Almighty for the grace and the opportunity to serve.
Akinboro said that the association would experience a new dawn under his dispensation.
“I believe everybody can see that truly a new dawn has begun in Ota Local Government.
“By the grace of God, we are going to experience greater change in this new dispensation.
“It is very, very important for us that it’s not about preaching the word alone but it’s about living the word.
“Because our society today has soiled the name of Christ because of what they want to gain,” he said.
Akinboro also appealed to members to ensure unity by avoiding denominational syndrome.
“There’s no denomination that is greater than one.
“We are all one and we should see ourselves as one because Christ Himself has prayed for us that we might be one, so we should pursue it.
“As I said earlier, our dispensation by the sacrifice of God is not just for Christians alone, it’s for every living being in Ota.
“We want to make sure that people see the impact of Christ and the oneness within us.
“And we have diverse programmes for widows, for the less privileged, we also have for students,” he said.
Dr Wale Muyiwa, from Mountain of Fire Ministry, Sango, Ota Mega Region, described the inauguration of the new executives as a welcome development.
The Clergyman said that every particular year there was this change that comes up for development and growth of the church in Ota community.
“We are glad to witness this occasion. We trust God that is going to bring something good for Ota land.
“I want to encourage them to be focused and up and about.
“They should also have at the back of their minds that they are not contesting with flesh and blood, but against principality and power and so they have to rise up to the challenge of the hour.
“And the Lord will help them in Jesus’ name,” Muyiwa prayed.