By Martin White-Ufuah

In 1985, following the ‘Transformative Greater Lagos Crusade’ organized by Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai that brought together church leaders from different denominations, it paved way for an umbrella body for several Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. So PFN was started to foster love and represent Pentecostal churches in addressing certain religious issues in the country.

The structure and governance of the PFN comprises both national and state leadership. At the national level, the fellowship is headed by a board of trustees, its National advisory Council, NAC, and a National Executive Council that consists of the president, deputy president, national secretary, national treasurer and national auditor and the States Chairmen and their Secretaries.

Since its inception, the umbrella body has had different leaderships and its affairs has never been managed like the enterprise of one-man as it is now under its current president, Bishop Francis Wale Oke of Sword of the Spirit Ministries. He runs the affairs of the PFN without the input of the National Advisory Council, and the National Deputy President, Archbishop JohnPraise Daniel. The office of the National Deputy President is not being carried along in most major decisions; in fact, it has been bastardized by the current president.

Recently, in a letter dated July 1st, he wrote the National Administrative Secretary, Pastor Damilare Akinwale Akinola to proceed on a terminal leave upon attaining the age of sixty; whereas, he the president is almost seventy and the PFN has no law stating age sixty as its standardized process of exit for its staff. His attention was drawn to the infraction of his letter being at variance with the relevant laws of the body, but he ignored everyone including the National Deputy President who counselled him to retract his letter and follow the rules and laws of the PFN.

Under Bishop Francis Wale Oke’s watch as president, each time things get out of hand and he is reached by his deputy or anyone to stir a discussion to resolve it, he’d always ignore them. Giving the fact that his first four-year tenure as president would elapse in February 2025 and a fresh election is expected to hold in February to elect new leaders, it is understood that his insistence on violating the laws of the PFN by sacking the Administrative Secretary is to create the avenue for him and some of the people working with him to fragment the body in order to manipulate the election.

Bishop Wale Oke’s tenure has stirred numerous unconstitutional events. Initially, he attempted to fragment Lagos into three states but he was resisted. Secondly he smuggled in one of his allies, Bishop Akinsanya as Chief of Staff and national officer. He has caused too many tensions and divisions within the PFN because of his selfish and ulterior motives to secure another term in office by hook or crook. Founding fathers like Pastor E.A. Adeboye had cautioned severally that nobody should destroy the PFN, but unfortunately, the body is severely under the attack of its president because of his sit-tight syndrome to secure fresh four-year tenure in February at any cost.

Conscripting the organs of the body to serve a selfish interest is at variance with the spirit of love and togetherness that inspired the founding fathers to float the PFN. Bishop Wale Oke and his men – Bishop David Bakare and Akinsanya are running the PFN as their private enterprises. In Port Harcourt where the chairman of the PFN in the State who is Bishop Wale Oke’s person conducted his own election that didn’t follow due process, he allowed it and asked him to be inaugurated for a second term. But Archbishop John Osa Oni resigned because he did the Lagos election as the National Vice President for South-West with even more numbers – eleven people but the election was cancelled.

They did a new election for Lagos by the National Publicity Secretary, Bishop Emma Isong, but closely monitored and influenced by the President’s foot soldiers (Bakare and Akinsanya) and it brought in a new chairman for Lagos who is not even a registered member with the PFN at that time.

In addition to these flagrant abuse and disrespect for the laws and constitution of the fellowship are lack of probity and financial misappropriation by this administration and his men who have hijacked the PFN and turned it to their stooge and private estates. The last diaspora conference held in London last year, he included his chief of staff in the trip, which was not suppose to be, and it cost the fellowship eight million naira of the fellowship’s scarce resources. The co-ordinator of the program in London also collected eight thousand pounds from the diaspora director’s son as a loan for the program which till date has not been paid back or refunded to the young man.

The Abuja land that was to cost two hundred and fifty million naira was bought for a whopping sum of almost three hundred million naira. The flagrant violation of the laws of the PFN and the disregard for the National Advisory Council, NAC, of the body by Bishop Wale Oke is unimaginable and akin to a power-drunk politician with a sit-tight mentality to perpetuate himself in office as a dictator. His actions have triggered several complaints and some national officers like the National Vice President South-West has resigned and others are threatening to resign, including the National Deputy President if measures are not taken on time to save the situation. PFN has never had it this way. If Bishop Wale Oke is not called to order and all actions put on halt till after the elections in February 2025, members of the body might wake up soon and discover that the PFN we knew before is no more the same, and many people might withdraw their commitments and membership as it’s already happening in Lagos.

Martin White-Ufuah

A columnist, writes from Abuja