..RCCG Pastors, CAN, PFN in attendance
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA – IT was all praises at the Sharon Ultimate Hotel, Abuja, as senior Pastors from the Redeem Christian Church of God, RCCG, representatives of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN and members of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, gathered to thank God for saving the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo from helicopter crash.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN

Vice President Osinbajo narrowly escaped death on Thursday last week as a result of the failed engine of the chopper that conveyed him to the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Gwagwalada, Abuja, where he had gone to attend the graduation ceremony of Senior Division Course 1/2018 participants.

The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing few seconds after it took-off as it was reported to have started emitting thick smoke mid air.

It was said to have landed on the same spot when it could not ascend beyond the tree level. The development forced the Vice President to be conveyed back to the Presidential Villa in his official vehicle.

Confirming the incident through his Twitter handle, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande attributed the bear mishap to technical reasons.

Laolu said in his tweet, “VP Osinbajo attended the graduation ceremony of Nigeria Customs Senior Course in Gwagwalada today. On his way back it was decided, for technical reasons, not to fly the chopper that had brought him to the venue. He drove back to the Presidential Villa & continued his schedule”.

Speaking at the Thanksgiving, the Aso Villa Chaplain, Seyi Malomo, said there was every reason to thank God for sparing Osinbajo’s life.

The Aso Villa Chaplain who organised the thanksgiving stated that there was need to thank God because it was not just Osinbajo’s life that was spared, the country, Nigeria and its leaders were also preserved from the calamity that would have befallen it.

According to him, “Last week we received the news with shock that the Vice President’s helicopter engine failed and we thank God that God preserved him. The preservation of the leaders is the preservation of the nation and as a result we want to thank God, so this programme was organised to thank God for his watchful eyes over our leaders, over our nation and more particularly over the deliverance for the Vice President.

“We will be spending 120 hours praising God, teaching about thanksgiving, praying to God to bless Nigeria more, establish peace in Nigeria more, preserve our nation more, give us the victory that is needed.

“As we all know we are a nation that deeply loves God and a love for God that is also born out of deep appreciation because we know that God loves us too and his love for us manifest in his good works towards us.”

Continuing, he said invitations were extended to chairman of the Pentecostal Bishop Forum of Northern Nigeria, Archbishop John Praise who gave his words to be present at the event, including Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, FCT Chapter, Rev Dr. Isreal Akanji, senior pastors from the Redeem christian church, among others.

He,however, criticized Christians who daily bemoan their situation, saying they should join them in prayers rather than complaining.

Buttressing his point with the sojourn of the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land, he said rather than momour and complain, Christians should look up to God for their supplications.

He said, “My advise to them is for them to join us, we are to be a praying church not a complaining church, many of us as Christians know that one of the things that angered God most in the journey of the children of Israel from Egypt was their momouring and complaints.

“We know that Nigeria has left Egypt we are on our way to the promised land, even though their might be manner and wilderness experience, the red sea we shouldn’t complain but look up to God and call on him that is what we are doing.”