*RCCG Not APC Church, Why I Protested In Past
*Remi Tinubu Ordained 10 years Ago Before Husband Became President
*Recounts Rapture Scare, Charges Couples to Settle Disputes Before Bedtime
THE General Overseer (GO) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, said Nigeria’s next President has already been decided by God.
He added: “The one that will rule has been decided by God before we were born. He knows the end from the beginning.
“God is not going to sit in heaven scratching His mighty head with His everlasting hand, saying who should rule Nigeria in 2027; it has been decided before the foundation of the world.”
Speaking on sundry national issues, Adeboye, otherwise called Daddy G.O. by his admirers, while addressing the church Workers’ Meeting and later during the May monthly Holy Ghost Service, ‘Excellent Counsel,’ at the Redemption City of God on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, between Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, said the outcome of the election was beyond human influence.
He, therefore, urged worshippers to focus on their spiritual assignments, noting: “Keep on praying, winning souls, and let your fruits abide. Face your business.”
On recent comments by another preacher describing him, Bishop David Oyedepo and Pastor William Kumuyi as “denominational fathers,” rather than fathers of all Nigerian Christians, Daddy G.O. agreed totally.
He also clarified that he does not see himself as a spiritual father to all Nigerian Christians, describing himself as the leader of RCCG, stressing: “I don’t want to be the father of all Christians in Nigeria. I am satisfied being the father of RCCG, and that is enough assignment for me.” .
He charged members of the church to avoid engaging in criticism or political disputes involving fellow believers, assuring them of his continued support and protection.
“I will not allow any outsider to dictate to me how to deal with my own children. Even if you make a mistake, I will not allow an outsider to tell me what to do with my own children. I will defend you against anybody, any blogger or whatever who may say anything against you.
“If anybody is criticising any of us, don’t join them. Don’t allow them to use you for politics.”
He dismissed insitnuations that RCCG is aligned with any political party, especially the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), insisting it remains a place of worship open to all Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation or association.
Adeboye described suggestions linking RCCG with APC are unfounded, as members of different political parties freely worship together, saying: “Some people are saying RCCG is an APC church. I just smile.
“In RCCG, you will find a governor from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sitting down with a governor from the Labour Party (LP), APC and APGA (All Progressive Grand Alliance). By the special help of God, we are representative of the whole nation, and that is what we will continue to be.”
He explained that much as politicians are welcome in the church, the altar is not a platform for political expression, insisting: “If you saw one governor among us today dancing and you were expecting he would be called forward to say something, we don’t do that.
“But if you come to worship with us, you are welcome. Our duty is to pray for everybody.”
Speaking on his past involvement in public protests, Adeboye said his actions were in obedience to directives from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and he operates under the authority of CAN on national Christian matters, adding: “That was because the then chairman of CAN asked all Christians to go out for a peaceful protest.
“If he talks tomorrow and asks me to march, I will.”
Adeboye also defended First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu’s role within the church, emphasising that she was ordained as an Assistant Pastor (AP) in RCCG even before her husband became President.
He stated that she went through the full rigours of the church’s spiritual formation process, adding: “There is no place in the Bible where it says the wife must dictate to the husband. What my Bible says is, ‘Husband, love your wife; wife, submit to your husband.’
“Some people have been asking how can we allow the First Lady to be a pastor in RCCG. Let me tell you one thing: the First Lady did not join RCCG when she became First Lady; she was ordained an Assistant Pastor 10 years ago.
“At that time, her husband was not even a contestant for the presidency. She passed through the baptismal class, workers in training class, and School of Disciples (SoD) at the national headquarters before she was ordained an Assistant Pastor 10 years ago.
“And she has not been promoted since then, because there are still conditions she must satisfy before she can be ordained as a full pastor.”
The renown cleric, however, declined to specify the major offences that could lead to removal from pastoral office in RCCG, but confirmed that she “has not committed any of such offences.”
The RCCG general overseer shared a personal experience he termed “rapture scare” to underscore the importance of resolving conflicts between couples before going to bed ny recalling an incident during a trip to the United States (US) with his wife, Folu, missing from their bed.
He recounted: “I woke up, looked to my side, and my wife wasn’t there. I thought she had gone to the toilet.”
But after checking several bathrooms with no trace of her, he became alarmed, fearing she may have been taken in a rapture while he was left behind, an experience that left him deeply unsettled and heightened his concern when he returned to the room and still could not find her.
“I went back to the living room, and I checked the door. The door was locked from the inside. Ah, I sat on the bed, and I was trembling.
“In the cold air-conditioned room, I was sweating. Oh, God, you mean she’s gone, and I’m left behind. Almighty God, what have I done? Why have you left me behind?”
He said the panic ended when the Holy Spirit told him that his wife had not travelled with him on that trip, saying: “Thank God for the Holy Spirit when all of a sudden I remembered on that particular trip, she didn’t come with me.”
He, therefore, cautioned couples against unresolved disagreements, warning that the uncertainty about Jesus Christ’s second coming makes reconciliation all the more important in marriage.
Adeboye harped on marital reconciliation, quoting the biblical verse that says “two shall be in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.”
Saying that is why he never sleeps with unresolved issues between him and his wife, he noted: “I don’t want God to come and take her away and leave me on the bed.
“Under no circumstance will I go to bed without settling with my wife.”
“The sun must not go down on your wrath.”
Adeboye offering some marital guidelines for young women, he urged them to prioritise a suitor’s job and character over religious displays and charm, and to question any suitor about his means of livelihood, regardless of how well he prays.
“No matter how religious the brother may be, or how well he prays in tongues, ask him: ‘Have you a job?”
Quoting Genesis 2, he noted that God gave Adam work before giving him a wife, noting: “Job first, wife later. If he has no job, how is he going to take care of the family? The Bible made it clear that any man who cannot provide for his own home is worse than an infidel.”
He warned against accepting vague claims of being a contractor without proof of executed contracts, counselling: “If he says I am a contractor, ask him to give you evidence of the contract he had executed before. Otherwise, you will be the contract.”
But he advised women to question potential husbands on holiness and to flee if a man struggles with the commandment against adultery or rejects holiness entirely.
To young men, he warned them not to marry based on physical beauty alone or a lack of prayer and advised against choosing women who cannot cook, wear excessive makeup, or demand weddings that lead to debt.
Adeboye warned them against being blinded by physical appearance alone, saying a lack of prayer could lead a man to inadvertently “choose a demon” because of outward beauty.
“There are many demons that are very beautiful. If you marry because of beauty, you might choose a demon. I’m not saying all beautiful people are demonic, but if it’s beauty alone that leads you into marriage, it’s a deep trap.
“Don’t marry a girl who does not do things in moderation. No matter how close you are to a wedding and your girl is suggesting a wedding that is going to cost you everything you have and get you into debt, call it off.”
Adeboye warned against “excessive makeup, false hair and false nails, noting: “The girl you are going to marry must not be heavily made up. If you look at the girl, the hair on her head is from India. The eyelashes are false. The nails of the hand are false. The nails of the toes are false.
“You must ask yourself the question, ‘what is behind the mask?’ because one day you will discover that excessive makeup is simply saying there is something to hide.
“I want my boys to end up well. When you check the Bible very well in 2 Kings 9:30-37, you will discover that the matron saint of makeup is Jezebel.”
