Why FRC must not allow its new rule thwarted -By Azuka Onwuka

Azuka Onwuka

The announcement by the Redeemed Christian Church of God over the weekend that its General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, was stepping down as the head of the Nigerian arm of the church took the nation by surprise and has remained the key talking point since then. A statement credited to Leke Adeboye, Adeboye’s last son and personal assistant, noted that the cleric, who is now 74 years old, remained the General Overseer of the RCCG Worldwide.

The reason for this was given as the Financial Regulations Council’s stipulation of a maximum tenure of 20 years for the heads of all registered churches, mosques, and civil society organisations or the attainment of 70 years of age by the head.

The PUNCH reported that the FRC, established by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act, No. 6, 2011, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, is responsible for, among other things, developing and publishing accounting and financial reporting standards to be observed in the preparation of financial statements of public entities in Nigeria; and for related matters.

Apart from the pivotal role Adeboye occupies in the affairs of the nation, the fact that this regulation by the FRC would affect about 20 other heads of churches, according to The PUNCH, was the cause of the huge attention paid to the story. Adeboye became the GO of the RCCG in 1981, having succeeded the church’s founder, Pa Josiah Akindayomi.

Still quoting The PUNCH, the FRA Act states inter alia: “The founder or leader of a NFPO (not-for-profit) occupies a special position in the organisation and is committed to the success and longevity of the NFPO. Accordingly, a founder or leader should not take on too many responsibilities in the organisation or have an indefinite term in the running of the organisation.

“Where, for any reason, a founder or leader of a NFPO also occupies any of the three governance positions of chairmanship of the board of trustees, the governing board or council, and the headship of the executive management (or their governance equivalents), the following provisions shall apply before the end of the organisation’s financial year in which this code takes effect.

“The founder or leader shall cease to occupy these three governance positions simultaneously. This is to ensure the separation of powers and avoid possible concentration of powers in one individual.

“The founder or leader may however choose – subject to the agreement of the organisation’s apex authority as expressed in the annual general assembly, annual meeting, annual stakeholder engagement, annual conference, annual synod, annual fellowship assembly or their equivalents – only one of these three governance positions subject to his current tenure. This is to ensure a clear division of responsibilities at the head of the organisation between the running of the governing body and the executive responsibility for the management and fulfilment of the organisation’s mission.

“Where the founder or leader has occupied all or any of these three governance positions for more than 20 years, or is aged 70 years or above, the choice in the section above should only relate to the board of trustees as in section below, except the constitution of the organisation otherwise provides.’’

Throwing more light on the matter, a human rights lawyer and pastor in the RCCG, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, said that “the plan of succession must not be to the benefit of a family member,” adding that as long as churches, mosques and other not-for-profit organisations were registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, they were bound by the new financial regulation, targeted at ensuring financial transparency and seamless succession.

There have been various reactions to this development, with some people seeing it as an attack on the churches. But it should be recalled that a similar regulation had applied to the banks recently, which put a ceiling of 10 years for bank chief executive officers, leading to the exit of some powerful bank founder-CEOs.

Secondly, there have been allegations of some founders of religious bodies turning such organisations into a family business, where the man is the General Overseer, with his wife as the deputy and successor-in-waiting, and the children as youth leaders and also successors-in-waiting. Schools, universities, hospitals, radio stations, TV stations, and companies that manufacture water or olive oil are established, with the man and his family members as trustees. Given that faith is the driving force in religion, members donate generously to the religious body, which does not pay tax, but such money is spent by the religious leader and his family as they please. And when anybody asks a question, such a person is blackmailed with: “Touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm” or “Judge not that you may not be judged.”

Religion is the strongest tool on earth. It can be used for wonderful actions that touch lives. Similarly, a mischievous person can easily use it to exploit others because it is based on belief and faith. One is not meant to question the authority of the spiritual leader, who is seen as the messenger of God. That is why someone can easily convince another to tie a bomb around his body and undertake a suicide bombing mission, killing innocent people, or administering poison on oneself and one’s family and dying “happily.” That is why someone can easily convince one’s flock to eat grass or lie down for one to walk on them. That is why many people get sexually abused or financially exploited without talking about it or even admitting it.

Because of the wealth and power in religion, many people are currently saying that they have been called to be ministers of God, when nobody called them except their hunger to be rich and exercise power over people. Such people are the ones that cause all manner of problems in religion and taint the good work done by those who are genuinely called to do the work of God.

The founders and prophets of Christianity and Islam never converted their work to family ventures. They ran the race and handed over to other people. Granted that nobody gave a tenure ceiling to the prophets of Islam and Christianity or to Jesus Christ or His apostles, the way they ran the church or the mosque then was different from what obtains now. Then, their ministry was truly not-for-profit and not as organised as today. Like Eneke the bird said: Since men have learnt to shoot without aiming or missing, it has learnt to fly without perching.

Religious bodies are registered by the government. That gives them a halo of authenticity. It confers trust on them and raises their believability. Therefore, the government has the moral duty to regulate them, to ensure that there is no abuse in the running of such bodies and the management of its funds.

However, government must ensure that when religious leaders retire, that they truly retire from the administration of their religious bodies in Nigeria. They must no longer be the approving authority or the primary signatory to the bank accounts of such bodies. A worthy servant of the Lord who is doing the work of his Creator should be able to train followers (outside his family) who will take over from him after twenty years. If he cannot find anybody from his flock (outside his family) to succeed him, then it was not God’s work that he was doing all along. God’s work is selfless. Religious work is not about the individual but about God.

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