Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, last Wednesday, December 25, to be precise, attended the Living Faith Church, Asaba, for the 2024 Christmas service. The governor was joined at the Christmas service by his wife, Deaconess Tobore Oborevwori and other members of the family
Speaking to journalists shortly after the service, the Governor called on Nigerians to use the season of joy and goodwill typified by the Christian Festival of Christmas, to reflect on the values of unity, peace and selflessness to work for the sustainable progress and development of the country.
He emphasized the need for citizens to place national interest above personal or sectional aspirations to foster sustainable progress and stability in the country, even as he reminded Nigerians that the essence of Christmas lay in selfless love, sacrifice, and the spirit of giving as exemplified by the birth of Jesus Christ, and urged citizens to emulate the virtues in their daily lives, particularly during these challenging times.
“I am very happy to celebrate this Christmas in Asaba. I don’t know if I am the first Governor to do that. But last year, I celebrated Christmas in my village and I said this year I will be celebrating it here in Asaba. Here is the capital and I need to celebrate it with all of you.
“I am happy to be here in this Christmas service. I want to assure Deltans that throughout this celebration, there shall be peace everywhere and I thank them for all the support they have given to this administration.
“I know that these are trying times, but I believe that 2025 shall be better than this year in Jesus’ name. I also know that there is crisis everywhere in the world but we are managing ours very well in Nigeria. The most important thing is that we are united and I believe that the major interest should be Nigeria, not personal interest.
“A lot of things have happened in the last few days. There is nowhere people don’t make mistakes. Where we have stampedes, we commiserate with them and their families over the losses. I pray to God to grant them the fortitude to bear the losses.
“Like I have said, 2025 will be a good year. It will be a year of consolidation and I pray for more unity in Delta State and Nigeria in general,” Governor Oborevwori said emphatically.
Earlier in his Christmas message titled “Understanding the Purpose of the coming of Christ,” Pastor Samuel Johns of Living Faith Church, Asaba, said Christmas was all about the celebration of salvation, adding that Christ came to save mankind from their sins.
The cleric said Christ came to open a new chapter for the human race to experience a new beginning, restore joy to mankind, bring peace to humanity and restore divine presence to man. He added that “Christ came to give us life at its best, to destroy the works of the devil, to restore the supernatural to mankind and to give Christians what is due them”.
Pastor Johns also said for Christians to access the blessings of the coming of Christ, they must accept and believe Him as their Lord and personal Saviour, believe in the provisions of redemption and engage in the obedience of faith to His word.
In another development, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has affirmed his administration’s readiness to kick off tangible empowerment of widows in the year 2025. Governor Oborevwori disclosed this while delivering a sermon at a Widows’ Empowerment Forum, organised by the Founder of Calvary World Outreach, Apostle Chris Eruemulor, at Boji-Boji Owa in Ika North East Local Government Area of the state.
Oborevwori who took his text from the book of Deuteronomy 16 verses 11 to 14, said widows had a special place in God’s heart, hence the need to take good care of them. He advocated that taking care of widows was a way of pleasing God and affirmed that the well-being of widows was a core project of his administration.
The governor advised the women to make Christ their companion, remain holy and keep at bay, any act capable of demeaning them in society. He said the Yuletide was a time to celebrate the birth of Christ, adding that identifying with widows was a noble undertaking.
He reminded widows of the need to cast their trust in God, be pure in heart and dispose with dignity, pointing out that the prayers of widows contributed to his emergence as governor and charged them not to stop praying for his administration.
The Governor, therefore, congratulated Apostle Eruemulor on the yearly distribution of food items to widows and wished the women a merry Christmas and a happy New Year in advance.
Earlier, the founder of Calvary World Outreach, Apostle Eruemulor, said the celebration was a divine instruction from God to put smiles on the faces of widows every year. He said he would not relent in sustaining the programme and reminded the women of the need to see Christ as the best friend anyone could keep.
Speaking in separate interviews with journalists during the ceremony, some of the widows who were visibly elated with the philanthropic gestures of Apostle Eruemulor, applauded him for putting smiles on their faces, just as they prayed that God should continue to bless him and his family.
