General Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare has tackled religious leaders putting pressure on the government for places of worship to be reopened.
The Federal Government has announced that places of worships can be reopened despite the spike in the number of new infections recorded in the country.
Lagos state with over 5,000 confirmed cases also announced that places of worships would be allowed to reopen from June 19 but under strict conditions to halt the spread of the virus.
Reacting to the opening of places of worships, Bakare said: “I’m so sorry for our country at this juncture. I’m so sorry that we are pressurising the government to open churches and to open Mosques. You want calamity upon calamity. The church has not been closed; nobody can close the church.”
“Yes, it is true that buildings are closed but the church is marching on. No one can close the church. Government can shut down the buildings; they cannot force us to go back because I’m not going to endanger the lives of our people.
“Noah did not jump out of the ark. He sent the raven first to test the ground. The raven never returned. He sent the duck twice. On the third occasion, it did not return. He knew it was safe to go out but he still stayed there until God said, Noah, come out.
“He locked him in and He brought him out. Let’s be patient. And they now want to start carrying people to their gravesides and be praying for their families. Let’s stay within until that time when the calamity is over.”
