The recent election of Yemi Davids as the new chairman of the Lagos chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has raised the hope for a new direction for the Christian organisation.
Davids was elected following the annulment of the election that produced Toyin Kehinde earlier in February 2024.
Prior to his election as the PFN chair in Lagos, Davids, who is the founding pastor of Global Impact Churches with headquarters at The Goodland, Ogudu, Lagos, has not held any known office within the Fellowship. He succeeds Enyinnaya Okwuonu.
Davids is considered an “outsider” by many of the PFN caucus in Lagos because he has neither involved himself in the politics within the group nor taken part in the circular politics that nearly tore apart the Fellowship in the recent past.
He is now faced with several challenges that need to be addressed in order to move the Fellowship forward.
The Lagos chapter of the PFN, which aims to unite and empower Pentecostal churches and believers in the state, has been in the news for some time now. But Davids now has been saddled with the responsibility of repositioning the Fellowship.
There has been the problem of apathy by many members towards the Fellowship and its programmes. He has to urgently develop a strategy to unite the PFN and heal it of internal divisions, ensure transparency in leadership, and develop good financial and strong membership drive.
Davids has been charged by the National President of the PFN to pursue an inclusive and purposeful system of administration where all members of the Fellowship would be carried along. He must unify the Pentecostals in Lagos State and create an atmosphere of love among them.
He is also saddled with the responsibility of tackling the tribal and political intrigues that occurred as the fallout of the PFN state’s election held before his emergence as the chairman.
There have been reports of discrimination and marginalisation of certain tribes and denominations within the Fellowship long before the election.
Therefore, Davids is faced with the responsibility of resolving the tribal and political intrigues that have permeated the fabric of PFN in Lagos, and must address the issue head-on by promoting unity and inclusivity among all members of the Fellowship, regardless of their tribe or denomination.
Gospel Emmah Isong, national publicity secretary of the PFN, in an earlier publication stated that the successful and peaceful conduct of the Lagos State PFN election laid to rest all agitations, suspicions and insinuations. He also disclosed that the election brought great appreciation and salutations to the wisdom and administrative grace of the national president of the PFN.
However, a source familiar with the issue told BusinessDay Sunday that, “The National President is keeping us in suspense.
“All over the state, no less than 90percent of the members are hurting, because they felt grossly disgraced; and I think it has been communicated to him,” suggesting some members have not accepted the outcome of the last election.
BDSunday reached out to Isong for further clarification on the matter, but he did not respond while Toyin Kehinde, who emerged as the state chairman in an earlier election, said: “Please permit me not to talk for now.”
According to the source, “The Central Working Committee is silent about this, because they do not want to be in the bad book of the National President.”
He also disclosed that the province chairmen and state directors kept mute in the face of lawlessness being carried out with the outcome of the chairmanship election. “If Yemi Davids has conscience, he will decline the offer. It is perceived that the Fathers want to use his head to break ‘the PFN coconut’; will he live to eat out of the coconut?”
However, Theophilus Ajose, director of politics and governance of the PFN, told BD Sunday that the state directors are not keeping mute, but waiting for the national office’s directive of the state inauguration.
“National will let us know; they will tell us the next move after the election. The election has been concluded; what we are just waiting for is the inauguration and there is nothing anybody can do until we receive directive from the national office concerning inauguration. So, there is nothing like anybody is keeping mute – we are waiting for directives from the national office. Once that is done everything will start,” Ajose said.
