NEWS
Olaoye Was Born To Be A King – Pastor Adeboye
General Overseer, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has disclosed having foreknowledge that the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Olaoye, was destined to be a king.
The revered pastor made the disclosure on Sunday in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
Recall that Olaoye was an RCCG pastor, in charge of the church’s branch, Jesus House in Washington DC, before being selected as the Soun of Ogbomoso when the stool became vacant following the death of Oba Jimoh Oyewumi, Ajagungbade III.
Consequently, Olaoye was installed as the 21st Soun of Ogbomoso in Oyo State in September and he is scheduled to be presented with the staff of office on Tuesday, December 19 by Governor, Seyi Makinde.
Pastor Adeboye spoke at an interdenominational thanksgiving service for the new Soun, at Beulah Baptist Conference, Ogbomoso.
According to Pastor Adeboye, he had always known that Olaoye was born to be a king, adding that God had a hand in his ascension to the ancient throne.
Public intrigue was ignited by the emergence of Olaoye, a pastor, as the Soun, which left not a few pondering how he would navigate the African traditional rites involved in the coronation of a Yoruba monarch.
However, Pastor Adeboye had expressed the view that Olaoye’s emergence as Soun had God’s backing and he could not stop it.
In his words, “I knew Olaoye was born to be king. When he (Olaoye) came to me to inform me about the development I told him to go and pray. He came back and said he had not heard anything.
“I told him to go back and pray again, and after a while, he came back and told me, ‘God has spoken. I have heard him loud and clear that I should go ahead’.
“It was then that I told him to go ahead because it had been destined. I knew that long ago but I wanted God to speak to him directly.
“To my critics, if I said no and God said yes, whose word is the final? God, of course. So, I cannot stop him because Pastor Olaoye was destined to be a king even before he was born and thank God it is coming to fruition.”
Pastor Adeboye, who took his scripture from the book of Acts 15:18, advised the monarch to embrace the people and promote peace and unity among his subjects.
He subsequently anointed the king and his wife, praying for a peaceful and prosperous reign as Soun.
On his part, Oba Olaoye said, “I give the Lord all the glory for the day I met Pastor Adeboye. He has been a father to me. He is a spiritual father to me. He was a role model. I have travelled with him to every part of the world. I watched him closely and I saw a genuine man of God. So, he has been a role model to me. You can imagine how excited I am today (Sunday) that the person who anointed and laid hands on me to become a pastor is the same person who lays hands on me as a king today.
“This is a new season. I believe it’s a new dawn for Ogbomoso, where there will be an opportunity, this land shall be a land where God Almighty will reign. I want everybody in this land to continue to pray for me that the Lord should lead me aright. I will rule with equity, justice and fairness. I will not be the king to Christians alone, I will be a king to the Muslims, to the traditionalists and to every indigene of this land and make Ogbomosoland a place where sons and daughters can be proud.
“I pray for the grace and mercy to rule in the right way and do justice to everyone. I believe God will make this city a great city, the envy of many towns not only in this state not even in Nigeria but in the world at large.
“To the people of Ogbomosoland, I want to thank you all for the love you have been showing to me since I became the Soun of Ogbomosoland. Your love has been humbling to me and I will use all the networks that God has given me to help this city grow better.”
Special prayers were also offered by the President of Nigerian Baptist Convention, Rev Israel Akanji; Bishop Titus Olayinka; Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu; Pastor J.S. Adegoke; Rev. Solomon Ademola Isola; former President of the seminary, Professor Nihinlola Emiola; Rev Stephen Ayankeye; Rev Bishop Moradeyo Olayinka; Bishop of Anglican Church, Rev Johnson Adeniji, Prophet Akintola, Baba Awoye among others.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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