The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has been urged to sack a pastor of the ministry for allegedly campaigning for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo ahead of the 2023 elections.
The accused, Pastor Timothy Olaniyan who is the ministry’s Head of Politics and Governance, is alleged to have hailed Osinbajo as the only qualified presidential aspirant that can change the narrative of governance in Nigeria.
Naija News understands that the alleged report went viral on the internet space on Monday.
The Church management and its General overseer, Pastor E. An Adeboye are yet to react to the viral reports at the moment. 
However, a Youth Pastor with the church, Dr Oche Otorkpa has in an epistle, condemned the comment by his colleague and called on the church to immediately sack pastor Olaniyan.
Otorpka stated that RCCG is a multiparty ministry and hence Pastor Olaniyan’s comment is a one-sided partisan stance.
Naija News recalls that Pastor Adeboye while preaching at the Church’s headquarters a few Sundays ago, stated clearly that he is not a politician and would never be one.
The renowned clergy forbid the Church from becoming a one-party ministry. He stated clearly that there is a representative of every political party in the Church, hence it will be unfair to mention that it should support a candidate from a particular party.
Adeboye stated the following controversies after the Church created an office of politics and governance.
There were speculations that the office was created to support Osinbajo’s presidential bid come 2023, which Adeboye has categorically declared as false.
In a statement to newsmen on Monday, pastor Otorkpa reiterated that the RCCG is a congregation of all parties and as such, pastor Olaniyan’s alleged position to support a single party should not be taken lightly.
The statement reads thus: “I was saddened when my attention was drawn to the statement credited to the Head of Politics and Governance of the Redeemed Christian Church, RCCG, “Pastor” Timothy Olaniyan. This act reminds me of the tragedy promoted by many of my colleagues in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, who used the RCCG altar to promote Buhari as the only saviour of Nigeria because Osinbajo also a Redeemed Pastor, was his running mate.
“Against all admonition by our father the General Overseer, these pastors choose to ignore an express order and promoted Buhari /Osinbajo using the RCCG pulpit in 2015 and the results are what we see today.
“While I have nothing personal against Osinbajo and those campaigning for him, our father, the General Overseer has made it clear to everyone that the church is a congregation of all parties and all are his children.
“If truly the said Pastor Timothy Olaniyan voiced such a one-sided opinion, then he should be ashamed of himself, and the many people who insulted Leke for calling such people goats should apologize to him because this man’s action has not only ridiculed the mission but also the reputation of our father in the Lord.”
Pastor Otorkpa said he owe it a duty as an ordained minister and someone who has spent close to 3 decades working to help achieve the church’s missionary objectives, to speak out against the comment credited to his colleague.
“How can a Redeemed Pastor, saddled with the responsibility of promoting all, insist on a public forum that one person is the only child of God that could change the narrative of governance in Nigeria? He asked.
Otorkpa added: “This is someone who says he wants to consolidate Buhari’s legacies, a legacy characterized by banditry, kidnappings, massive killings, corruption, stealing and diversion of crude oil, unfulfilled promises, and borrowings that are about to throw us into a state of bankruptcy as a nation.
“Pastor Olaniyan claimed that politicians will promise heaven and earth, and at the end of the day, you see them giving N1000, N2000 to eligible voters. That was similar to what Osibanjo did the last time with Trader money before the elections, jumping from one market to the other.
“When it comes to failed promises, nobody beats Osinbajo and Buhari. They promised three million jobs per year, it is almost 8 years, and those who have jobs before they came to power are now jobless.
“Osinbajo and Buhari promised 20,000 MW of electricity within four years, but today, grid collapse and darkness are what Nigerians are battling.
“When Osinbajo and Buhari came to power on the 29th of May 2015, the naira was exchanged at N199 to the dollar. Today, the naira is exchanging at almost N600 when they promised to make it equal to the dollar.
“As I write this response, our youths and children are at home due to the ongoing ASUU strike, Osinbajo and Buhari had promised to give up to 20 per cent of the national budget for the educational sector, they have never exceeded 6% since they took power. Even the foreign scholarship created by Jonathan for First Class students has been cancelled by them.
“They promised to clean our electoral system but ended up creating devilish inventions such as the inconclusive elections and the “remote control” in the words of Buhari which they used on the people of Osun state to deny Adeleke his last mandate and Nigerians in the last general elections.
“They promised to reduce the fuel pump price to N40 per litre, this year, the price ranges from 165 to infinity depending on where you are buying. Very available diesel has now disappeared, thanks to the change championed by some of our Pastors.
“Proverbs 12:22 says the LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in trustworthy people. When a pastor begins to brand deceptive people as the only ones being capable of changing the narrative of governance in the country, then you know there is a problem.
“While Pastor Olaniyan has the constitutional right to hold a political opinion, he clearly does not understand the sensitive nature of the office he occupies and the diversity of the interest and the people he is meant to manage.”
Pastor Otorkpa insisted that the Church leadership should as a matter of urgency, remove Pastor Timothy Olaniyan as the Head of Politics and Governance, to enable the unit to discharge its mandate without shamefully taking sides and dancing naked in the market square.
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