Onazena Abbey, Benin-City
Some Pastors under the platform of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), in Edo State, have called on the leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to, as a matter of urgency, revisit the prolong lockdown of churches and reopen worship centres in the state.
They exonerated the state government over the continued shutdown of worship centres and accused the leadership of CAN whom they claimed issued the directive.
Resident Pastor, Dunamis Ministry, Kennias Samuel, said the rightful thing to do now, as a nation amidst the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, was to reopen churches.
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According to him, “In this situation we are in where doctors, governments are helpless, what we need now is God’s intervention.
“The issue of closing down churches at that time was not the Governor. I think the CAN took the decision on their own.
“Coming together to pray as a nation is the best thing for us, you can see the death rate in Africa, is because we believe in prayer for Africa.”
Pastor Samuel, therefore, urged the relevant authorities to limit the number of attendants in accordance to the seating capacity of churches in the state
On his part, the General Overseer of Heaven Global Tabernacle, Pastor Favour Orumwense, faulted the whole essence of shutting down the churches at the outbreak of the virus without taken into consideration the place of prayer.
He also blamed the CAN over the lockdown of churches on the state saying, “I do hope that CAN should revisit this matter for reopening of churches in the interest of oneness.”
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He commended the state government for allowing partial church services of not more than 20 persons in attendance.
Also Pastor Doris Oni of Christ Dominion Ministry lambasted both the state government and the Christian umbrella body over what she termed ‘the blame game’ on the directive to shut down churches.
According to her, “My message to CAN is that we should try as possible to reopen churches and start prayers because the whole world need prayer now.”
