The Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, David Oyedepo, has countered the outburst by Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie who asked him to create his own country if uncomfortable with laws and policies in Nigeria.
Onochie made the remarks following the new legal regime on Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) which President Muhammadu Buhari had on August 7 signed into law as the Companies and Allied Matters Bill, 2020. The bill which has been passed by the National Assembly replaced the 1990 CAMA.
Oyedepo has been under intense criticism over his comments on Sunday, warning the Federal Government to expunge the part of the newly-signed amended Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, that gives the supervising minister the power to remove the board of trustees of churches without recourse to the court.
Onochie in her social media handle on Monday said; “I hope this is not true. If it is, Oyedepo will have to manufacture his own country and live by his own laws. As long as he lives and operates within the entity called Nigeria, he will live by Nigerian rules and laws. He will do as he’s told by the law. Enough of lawlessness.”
But Oyedepo in a sermon on Tuesday morning tagged, ‘Breaking Limits’ aired via the church’s social media platforms, said that anyone abusing him is wasting his time.
“If I ever preached a message where there is no laughter, don’t listen to it. I have been laughing like this 76 till forever since I found Matthew 6:33. I have been laughing at the devil and smiling as I serve. You insult me, I enjoy it. You insult me and I stop going to work because you insult me? I will be a big fool. I am going to work.
“They said, see his legs. Yes, I thank God for my legs. See his nose, yes, He made it and He did it beautifully. See how short he is, that’s the size He made me for so I can save more clothes
“You know, He that sits in heaven shall laugh. If you are not laughing, you are not seated in heaven. And we are seated in heavenly places, so what should we be doing? Laugh. As they insult you? Laugh. As they mock you? Laugh. As they abuse you? Laugh.
“Anybody insulting me is wasting his time. One, I didn’t hear. Two, even if I heard, it won’t pain me. Anybody praising me is expressing his opinion. One, I didn’t hear. And even if I heard, it won’t blow my head because if you praise anything in me, it is Jesus.”
“Nobody has the power to determine how many people worship Jesus. No force on earth has the power. When I’m lifted up, I will draw all men to myself. So, get all the facilities ready. The devil is tired. You ask him and he will tell you. I am tired because there are churches today that are just pushing the frontiers of the gospel in spite of the devil”, he said.