A foremost preacher and President, Uma Ukpai Evangelistic Association Incorporated, Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai, on Thursday condemned attack by the Presidency on the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor. Enoch Adeboye over his comment on the need to restructure Nigeria.
Uma Ukpai observed that the Redeemed pastor is entitled to express his reservations.
Adeboye, recently told the Federal Government to restructure Nigeria as soon as possible as a means to addressing some of the agitations from different geo- political zones saying failure to do so may lead to breakup of the country.
Unsettled by the statement, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu described the statement as ‘unpatriotic’, saying Buhari’s administration would not succumb to such ‘threats and intimidations.’
But Rev. Ukpai in an interaction with journalists on Wednesday in his office in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, said Pastor Adeboye is a man of God and must have seen reasons he made the statement, therefore should not be attacked.
“Adeboye like every other person should be allowed to say his mind. I don’t think he is not entitled to his opinion, he is a man of God and not a small boy, he must have seen the civil war and these things made him make the deductions,” he said.
On the Company and Allied Matters Act, CAMA, where it was stated that the federal or the state government can take over the leadership of a church that has crisis, the Cleric simply queried, “you mean for governments to take over the trustees of the church if there occurs problem in the church, then who will take over governments when there is crisis among them?”
