“Create Your Country And Live By Your Laws” — Presidency Replies Oyedepo

The Presidency has advised Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church to create his own country where he can live by his own laws.

This is coming after he made some controversial comments on government regulations earlier today.

President Muhammadu Buhari had signed the Company and Allied Matters Acts, CAMA into law on August 7, 2020, and the CAC intends to apply the law in churches.

Under the law, religious bodies and charity organisations will be strictly regulated by the registrar-general of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and a supervising minister.

CAMA provides that the commission may by order, suspend the trustees of an association or a religious body and appoint an interim manager or managers to coordinate its affairs where it reasonably believes that there has been any misconduct or mismanagement, or where the affairs of the association are being run fraudulently or where it is necessary or desirable for the purpose of public interest.

While addressing members of his congregation on Sunday, Oyedepo said such laws were borne of out the government’s jealousy about the prosperity recorded by the church.

Oyedepo questioned the rationality behind subjecting churches to the same laws as companies, describing the church as God’s heritage on earth.

However, reacting to his statement on Monday, Mrs Onochie – the social media aide of President Muhammadu Buhari – said the popular cleric would have to create his own country where he can live by his own laws.

“I hope this is not true. If it is, Oyedepo will have to manufacture his own country and live by his own laws,” she tweeted.

“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.”