General News
CISLAC explains Africa’s rising debt profile

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) says a major contributor to Africa’s rising public debt is the unprecedented influx of private lenders flooding developing economies looking for higher returns outside advanced economies.
Mr Auwal Rafsanjani, Executive Director, CISLAC, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Monday organised in collaboration with Christian Aid Nigeria on the Increasing Role of Private Creditors in Nigeria’s Debt Crisis and its Human Costs.
He said Nigeria’s debt was growing and increasingly putting the country in a precarious situation, adding that it had significant implications for human rights.
Rafsanjani said the situation also had implications on education, health, climate change, mitigation and adaption and these called for a collective action to address the debt crisis.
He said the past decade had seen the largest, fattest and most broad-based increase in debt in emerging and developing countries over the past 50 years.
He said the total debt in these areas has risen by 54 per cent points of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a holistic peak of almost 170 per cent of GDP in 2028.
“A major contributor to this increased public debt level is the unprecedented influx of private lenders flooding developing economies as they look for higher returns outside advanced economies.
“This is sequel to the global financial crisis of 2008.
“According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s total public debt stock as of June 30, 2022 was N42.84trillion.
“It is instructive to recall that Nigeria’s debt service cost presently outweighs its revenue with clear signs of economic dangers ahead,” he said.
Rafsanjani said with refusal of private creditors to embrace debt relief initiatives, the Nigerian government would continue to spend a significant part of its budget to service loans.
He said this would come under stringent conditions including high interest rates, adding that it would drastically reduce due commitment to more critical socio-economic sectors like health and education.
Rafsanjani said in the Nigerian context, about 90 per cent revenue was devoted to debt serving at the expense of development projects.
He said the group was concerned with the lack of vigorous scrutiny and attention by lawmakers in granting requests for loans without reflecting the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the greater implication for the nation economic state.
He said that the Nigerian legislators had the constitutional and legislative mandate to approve loan request only on the basis of public interest and should put this clause as a prerequisite to any approvals they might want to give.
Rafsanjani said the group had inaugurated a research product centred on revealing and challenging role of private creditors in hindering peoples recoveries to enhance the urgency with which the international community should address sovereign debt crisis.
(NAN)
General News
Clergy Urged To Put Members’ Welfare Above All Else

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.
General News
1,000 Prayer Warriors Storm Ilorin for Tinubu, Nation’s Deliverance

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.
General News
Nigerian Anglicans Condemn Lesbian Archbishop of Wales, Deepening Global Anglican Rift

…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.