General News
Group gives Aregbesola, Oyetola seven days ultimatum to settle rift
As the rift between the Minister of Internal Affairs, Rauf Aregbesola and the Governor of Osun State, Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola deepens, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has waded into the conflict.
The human rights group has given the duo seven days within which they must settle their misunderstanding if indeed they are true Muslims who can settle any score for the sake of Allah.
This was disclosed in a statement by the group’s director and founder, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Monday.
Recall that sometime in 2020, the National Leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu and a former Governor of Osun, Adebisi Akande, twice initiated peace moves that failed.
MURIC said: “The rift between the Minister of Internal Affairs, Rauf Aregbesola and the Governor of Osun State, Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola has been in the public arena for more than two years now. All efforts made by stakeholders, including Muslim leaders, to settle the feud have proved abortive.
“We have decided to wade into the squabble because Muslims in the South West will be the worst hit if the rift is allowed to continue ad infinitum. Already, it has become a major embarrassment to Muslim leaders in the sub-region.
Muslim youths are also entertaining fears over the ugly development. Apart from this, MURIC’s office has been inundated with calls for our intervention.
MURIC’s staunch belief in dialogue and its commitment to it over the years is also another casus belli of our intervention.
“To cap the edifice, the Muslim Rights Concern is deeply concerned because Allah gave specific instruction to Muslims regarding this type of development. This instruction is in the Glorious Qur’an 49:10.
The verse describes Muslims as ‘brothers’ (innama al-mu’minuun ikhwatun) and commands members of the Ummah to intervene in disputes for the purpose of reconciling two feuding Muslim brothers (faslihuu bayna akhwaykunm).
“We appreciate the intervention of Muslim leaders in this dispute. But it is because those efforts are yet to yield the desired result while the rift has already been blown open that MURIC has opted for this intervention.
More often than not, parties in disputes tend to forget that their rancours bring sadness and agony to those who love them in particular and other stakeholders in general.
“The question is what is at stake and we affirm that a lot is at stake because when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. The ongoing face-off is likely to affect the fortunes of both Aregbesola and Oyetola in the coming gubernatorial election in Osun State this year although they may not acknowledge this fact now as both gladiators are still grandstanding.
“It is also likely to ricochet on the rumoured presidential ambition of their principal, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. A divided camp cannot fight on one front. Neither can it speak with one voice.
For the past two years, MURIC has been calling for a Yoruba Muslim as the next president of this country and we still stand by this. But as it stands today, this bitter quarrel between the two most prominent Muslim politicians is likely to scuttle our aspiration.
“This is why we cannot continue to fold our arms to watch by the ringside while the two combatants slug it out. We must find a way to de-escalate tension. If the combatants will not listen to Muslim leaders who have allegedly pleaded with them in private, we have a duty as a Muslim rights group to task both of them in public.
This is a case that is already known to every Dick and Harry anyway and people are wondering why the Muslims have not been able to douse the tension.
“We hereby call the attention of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Rauf Aregbesola and the Governor of the State of Osun, Isiaka Oyetola, to the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in which he said, ‘Two Muslims should not engage in a quarrel beyond three days. The one who first extends greetings to the other is the better Muslim.’
“It is our desire to leverage on the above hadith by asking both of them who is the better Muslim? Aregbesola or Oyetola, to be or not to be? That is the question. Who has deeper Imaan (faith) between the two? Who will listen to the hadith first? Who will take his handset and say ‘Salaam Alaykunm’ to his Muslim brother first and follow it up with a visit? Who will be the first to simmer down? Who will be the first to tell his loyalists to stop the intrigue? Who will show the world that the bond of Islam is stronger than the camaraderie in a political party?
“Both politicians have seven days to act. We have no apology for making this demand of them because Allah will ask all of us what role we played in the lingering fracas, the smoldering scandal and the shameful and embarrassing rigmarole. We want Aregbesola and Oyetola to know that there are conscious Yoruba Muslims in leading Islamic organizations who are monitoring this development and they are waiting to see how they will react to this demand.”
At a solemn ordination service in Abuja, senior church leaders have called on pastors to make the well-being of their congregations a top priority, following the example of Jesus Christ.
Speaking during the priesthood ordination and installation of a Sub Dean at the Cathedral Church of Advent, Life Camp, Abuja, the retired Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Okene, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Ajulo, described pastors as shepherds charged with the care of their flock. He urged them to shun worldly distractions and focus on meeting the spiritual and material needs of their members.
Bishop Ajulo also encouraged the newly ordained priests to remain faithful to their calling by teaching God’s word without compromise.
In his charge, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba, urged the new clergy to preach the undiluted gospel and foster religious harmony wherever they serve. He expressed confidence that their new roles would help promote peace and unity in society.
The service also featured prayers for national leaders and divine intervention in addressing the current global economic challenges.
In a dramatic show of faith and patriotism, over 1,000 fiery prayer warriors from across Nigeria will descend on Ilorin, Kwara State, this Saturday, lifting their voices in intense intercession for President Bola Tinubu’s success and Nigeria’s survival in the face of biting economic woes and mounting insecurity.
The spiritual siege, themed “Walking in Domini”, is the maiden convention of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), with its Kwara State Chairman, Evangelist Thomas Adeboye, vowing that “heaven will hear and respond to Nigeria’s cry.”
Aside from marathon prayers, the gathering will roll out free medical outreach to locals across Kwara’s LGAs, a gesture aimed at touching both body and soul.
Adeboye, lamenting Nigeria’s “troubling economic and security realities”, called for a nationwide prayer uprising, insisting that Tinubu has shown the will to revive the nation but needs massive divine backing to succeed.
“Banditry, a collapsing economy, and political tension demand we seek God’s face like never before,” he declared. “We will storm heaven for wisdom for the President and governors to steer Nigeria to safety.”
The convention will also feature awards to distinguished personalities, soul-lifting worship, fiery sermons, and unity-driven lectures—all capped with thunderous prayers for Nigeria’s redemption.
Adeboye urged the President to ensure every policy has “a human face,” stressing that Nigerians must not only endure but also enjoy the fruits of governance.
With the OAIC promising to reaffirm believers’ authority in Christ and rally spiritual boldness in the face of national challenges, Ilorin is set to become the epicentre of a powerful spiritual warfare for Nigeria’s destiny.
…Church leaders accuse Welsh counterparts of “spiritual decadence” and “abandonment of faith”
The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has issued a forceful condemnation of the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann, an openly lesbian cleric, as the Archbishop of Wales. The move is the latest in a series of developments that have deepened divisions within the global Anglican Communion over sexuality and doctrine.
In a statement from Primate The Most Rev’d Henry Ndukuba, the church denounced the election as a “serious departure from biblical teaching” and a sign of “spiritual decadence” and “an outright abandonment of the faith once delivered to the saints.”
Archbishop Ndukuba warned that Bishop Vann’s elevation compromises the Anglican Church’s global mission and could obstruct evangelism. He compared the situation to the controversial tenure of Most Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori, former Presiding Bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, who also faced intense criticism from conservative Anglicans for her progressive views.
The Primate accused Bishop Vann of being complicit in the “ongoing crisis” around same-sex issues, stating that the election is a “clear revelation that many who claim to be members of the body of Christ cannot endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).
The Church of Nigeria called on Anglicans worldwide to reject “rebels” and “apostates” and to instead support conservative bodies like the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON).
“The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) condemns, unequivocally rejects, and will not recognize the election of Rt. Rev. Cherry Vann as Archbishop of Wales,” Ndukuba declared. He concluded with a solemn warning that without repentance, the Church in Wales risks losing “complete relevance” and its leaders will face judgment.
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