Demolition Of DGM: Oritsejafor Appeals To Lagos State GovernorDemolition Of DGM: Oritsejafor Appeals To Lagos State Governor By VICTOR BASSEY
Disturbed by the continued displacement of thousands of Christians, National President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor has appealed to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, to fulfil his promises to the General Overseer of Dispensational Gospel Mission, DGM, Archbishop Peter Okodua whose church was demolished in June.
The PFN helmsman, in a recent interview in Lagos, expressed shock that the State governor who promised to rehabilitate members of the church by providing an alternative place of worship for them within the shortest possible time is yet to fulfil his promise. “I am shocked that the governor is yet to provide a place of worship for these people who had been displaced since June. From what I gathered from the old man, I mean Archbishop Okodua, the members are currently in disarray without a place to worship their God.
“I also learnt that both parties had agreed on a peaceful settlement based on the promise of the governor which was why the archbishop withdrew his case from the court, believing that the government will soon provide them with an alternative place and even help them to build same,” Oritsejafor said, referring to a meeting between the governor and the Methodist Prelate, His Eminence Sunday Ola Makinde and the National Vice President of PFN, Rev. Wilson Badejo.
At that meeting which held at the governor's office in Alausa, Lagos which was also attended by the embattled archbishop, the governor agreed to take responsibility for building another place of worship for the church somewhere in Lekki area of Lagos. It was based on that promise that Archbishop Okodua withdrew his legal battle against the demolition.
Oritsejafor therefore appealed to the governor to make haste and fulfill his promise to the church before people will read ulterior motives to the government’s move which was believed to have been done in the interest of the general public.
“Considering the noble role of churches in reshaping society,” the cleric pointed out “especially in metropolitan Lagos where you have a very high rate of miscreants, it is imperative for the government to make good its promise to enable the church make its valuable contribution to the development of the society.
“I personally share the sentiments of Gov. Fashola recently at a zonal gathering of the National Inter-Religious Council, NIREC, in Lagos, when he was quoted as calling on leadership of both religions, who incidentally were present at that meeting, to join hands to assist politicians to remodel the youths for future challenges,” Oritsejafor told reporters.
Thanking the former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for coming to the aid of the displaced archbishop by paying for an alternative accommodation for him, Oritsejafor further appealed to the governor to have pity on the thousands of church members who have been displaced since the incident.
Operatives of the Lagos State Task Force demolished the Dispensational Gospel Mission at Ijeh, Obalende area of Lagos, a theological school and the private quarters of the General Overseer, on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 because the structures were allegedly obstructing the drainage system.
The archbishop, a retired Police officer who quit the Force in 1979 to answer a divine call to ministry, was said to be denied the opportunity of removing his personal belongings from the place he had lived since early 80s before the demolition squad moved in just before noon that Wednesday.
Okodua was rattled by that action of the state government especially because he had earlier approached the Lagos High Court to seek an injunction restraining the state government from demolishing the church for which he had duly paid for a Certificate of Occupancy.
“We had applied for the C of O and had paid,” he argued “then they gave us receipt. If they were not going to approve the C of O for us, they should not have collected money from us in the first place and the law says if you know that you took money in error, you should return the said money in 21 days and inform the client in writing that you took the money in error and that the land could not be approved.”
However, Gov. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, who had earlier visited the church and promised a 'win win' situation for both parties in the dispute, made another pledge to rehabilitate the church within one week.
He was reported to have assured the National Vice President of PFN, Rev. Wilson Badejo and Prelate Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence Sunday Ola Makinde who mediated on behalf of the Christian Community, that the State's permanent secretary for Lands would allocate a fresh land for the church, stressing that the State government would pay for everything that was destroyed including personal effects.
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