Oritsejafor Warns On N/Delta Crisis

President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has warned against exploiting the Niger Delta crisis for selfish gains.
Fielding questions from newsmen in Lagos, the cleric said those who indulged in such acts were calling for God's wrath.
Oritsejafor said that God would not allow such persons to escape punishment.
'' Some people are engineering the Niger Delta problem because they make money from it.
God will not allow them to go free,'' he said. Oritsejafor, the founder of Word of Life Bible Church, noted that continued neglect and oppression of Niger Delta people were responsible for the violence in the region.
'' Fifty years ago, those who colonised us advised the government on how to solve the region's problem even without discovering the oil,'' he said '' Ethnic suspicion has developed over the years in the region together with an increased level of poverty.
'' We may be heading for a disaster if we do not sit down and resolve this Niger Delta issue. We need to sit down and discuss.
'' Let the governments at all levels, oil companies, women, church and the militants dialogue and reach a decision that will be acceptable to all,'' Oritsejafor advised.
He said it was regrettable that the Federal Government was yet to respond to calls to involve the church in finding a solution to the crisis.
'' Some of the educated militants who are Christians will respect decisions taken by their church leaders toward the solution of the problem,'' the cleric said.
Oritsejafor warned against military option in the resolution of the crisis ''because those who will be badly affected are the innocent people.''
He urged the Federal Government to have the political will to address the Niger Delta problem so as to find a lasting solution to it.