Some clerics in Anambra state have condemned the recent ban of preaching in public places including markets by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
Recall that the governor had on Saturday announced the ban of public preaching and imposed N500,000 on anyone who violates the state’s directive on the matter.
Soludo had urged clerics in the state to take their evangelism to their churches as they were constituting nuisance, in the form of noise pollution – in the areas.
However, in their reaction to the governor’s order, clerics in the state said public preaching is important for winning souls for Christ.
Some of these clerics described the ban by the state governor as a move against religious freedom.
Stating religious freedom is a constitutional right, Osazee Williams, the International Secretary of the Ecumenical Synods of Bishops, Archbishops, Apostles, and Senior Clergy in London, said the governor has only succeeded in launching an attack on the body of Christ.
He said restricting preaching in public places would impact negatively on the people of the state.
Williams also said that he does not believe the governor fears God as a Supreme being.
Speaking further, he said that many people need to hear the word of God while others are in need of salvation.
According to him, some of these people will never go to the church and this results to the need to take the word of God to them in public places.
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. The governor could have simply asked that the sound be reduced, perhaps suggesting that instead of using microphones, other means could be explored.
“Some people come to the market to steal, to kill, or engage in other vices, but when they hear the word of God, they change their ways. It’s a vital tool in transforming lives,” he said.
Also, for the Archbishop of the Methodist Church of Nigeria in Lagos, Most Reverend Isaac Olawuyi, the governor’s ban is an attack on Christendom and must be resisted by all means.
He said, “I cannot see anybody in Nigeria speaking against Christian freedom because we have such freedom to preach the gospel, and it is a mandate. So, for a governor to do that shows he is going against religious fundamental rights, and he should be challenged.”
Further daring the governor, the Archbishop encouraged preachers to go about their God assigned duties of preaching in public places.
“If they should go out for true evangelism and hold crusades, let the governor go ahead and arrest all of them. Let’s see what will happen.
“I think the governor did not really mean what he said; maybe he is just trying to counsel people,” he added.
It’s better to reduce the volume than to stop the Evangelism preaching the word of God in the market is necessary. Praise God