The Continental Overseer for Continent 3, covering South West Nigeria and the Middle East, of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Joseph Odesola, has appealed to Nigerians not to pressure the church’s General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to speak against President Bola Tinubu.
Odesola said Adeboye would address Nigeria’s political and economic situation when he considered the timing appropriate.
He stated this in an article published by Impact Nigeria on Monday and shared on his X page with the caption, “Pastor E.A. Adeboye Will Speak Only When God Says Speak.”
According to Odesola, pressure has been mounting on religious leaders, especially Adeboye, to comment publicly on the Tinubu administration, with some people seemingly expecting the cleric to make specific statements.
He said, “Some people are waiting eagerly for Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye to speak about President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. But it appears that they are not merely waiting for him to speak; they already have a script they want him to follow.”
Odesola said some Nigerians expected Adeboye to insult Tinubu, strongly condemn his administration or issue religious pronouncements against the President. He argued that such expectations did not reflect the conduct expected of a responsible religious leader.
He wrote, “But that is not Pastor Adeboye. And, more importantly, that is not how a responsible servant of God should operate.”
He noted that Adeboye had spent decades establishing a reputation for speaking from conviction, prayer and spiritual responsibility, adding that he should not be expected to make public statements merely because people were demanding them.
He said, “A man of God does not have to speak simply because people are demanding that he speak. There is a difference between speaking because the crowd is shouting and speaking because one has something meaningful to say. “There is also a difference between political commentary and prophetic responsibility.”
