THE Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has stated that the election for the successor of the Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos was free and fair, contrary to certain reports which stated that there were corruption and inducement during the election.
In a statement made available to Nigerian Tribune and signed by the Episcopal Secretary, Bishop David Onuoha, the bishops stated that the February 6 election of the successor to the incumbent Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos, who will retire in August 2018, followed due process.
The statement read: “This particular election was held alongside four others at the Cathedral Church of St Barnabas, Ilorin, in the Diocese of Kwara, Kwara State, in accordance with the church’s laid down rules and regulations. The event was free and fair.
“A total of 161 bishops participated and pursuant to the provisions of the Canon V of the Constitution and Canons of the Church of Nigeria 1997 (as amended), candidates were nominated after the advice from the diocese, which favoured translation, had been circulated and read. The procedure before every election in the House of Bishops is to appoint a team of returning officers to collate the results. This was strictly followed with the Right Reverend Sosthenes Eze, Bishop of Enugu North diocese, leading eight other bishops to perform this sacred duty.
“Only two candidates, Most Reverend Michael Fape and Right Reverend Humphrey Olumakaiye, were duly nominated and seconded by highly respected members of the house without any objection raised against any of them. After the voting, which was by secret ballot, the result was declared as follows: Most Revd Michael Fape – 51; Right Revd Humphrey Olumakaiye – 109; Absention – 1.By this result, Rt. Revd Olumakaiye, Bishop of Osun North East, became duly elected for translation to the See of Lagos.”
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The bishops, while calling “on the discerning public, especially all Anglican faithful, to disregard the said malicious publications in their entirety as they are baseless and without an iota of truth,” they expressed their resolution to be “united in their determination to uphold godliness and righteousness in their service to God and humanity.”
They also called on the peddlers of the “false” publication to take advantage of the Lenten season to “seek God’s face in repentance.”
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