GOVERNOR FASHOLA HONOURED AT THE 3RD SESSION OF THE 30TH SYNOD OF THE DIOCESE OF LAGOS, CHURCH OF NIGERIA, ANGLICAN COMMUNION

It was a time of frank speaking as the third session of the 30th synod of the Diocese of Lagos, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion as the President of Synod, His Grace, The Most Revd. Ephraim Adebola Ademowo welcomed Governor of Lagos, Babatunde Raji Fashola. The president of Synod commended the governor for his impactful leadership of Lagos State. According to him, Governor Fashola is not only a reliable, principled, humble, responsible and dependable; he is a visionary leader worthy of emulation. Such sterling qualities, according to His Grace, could not go unnoticed and was the reason; the Diocese had decided to honour him with the Episcopal Award for Excellence in Governance, 2009.

Bestowing the honour on him, the President of Synod, said that Governor Fashola has been able to balance political leadership with responsible governance.

Governor Fashola thanked the President of Synod for the honour done him, saying that it was more an accolade to the collective will and efforts of the people of Lagos state than the efforts of one man.

While thanking the President of Synod, and the Diocese for extending invitation to him, Fashola acknowledged the importance of Synod in every political environment. Since Synod is an avenue where issues of relevance to church and society are discussed, it behoves political leaders to identify and indeed associate with such gatherings. The Governor proved himself to be an astute church historian as he reeled out the history of why political leaders are always sworn in by clergymen. He traced the origin to the Roman Empire in the time of Emperor Constantine, and concluded that up till now the church and the state remain intertwined.

He concluded by thanking God and leaders of all religious bodies not only for their positive attitude towards tax payment and preaching but more importantly for the church leadership’s intervention at every critical and challenging times in the life of government, particularly during the last teachers’ strike.

The Governor said that the government will always take the counsel and suggestions of the church very seriously and promised that the government shall continually be flexible to change whenever such is necessary.

Also speaking, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, thanked the President of Synod for inviting him and prayed that the Holy Spirit will guide the deliberations and inspire the decisions that will assist in arriving at decisions that will bring long lasting benefits to the church.

Cardinal Okogie said that while it is true that the presence and action of the Holy Spirit need to be recognised in the church today, the traditional churches had always been aware of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit.

Referring to Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, where attention was given to the manifestations of the Holy Spirit and to Spiritual gifts but also noted that the greatest of the gifts is love, the Cardinal, said that “while Pentecostalism should be accommodated in the church, it should not be enthroned as the only valid expression of religiosity for all Christians to embrace in our time and anytime in the history of the church.”