The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has re-elected Bishop Francis Wale Oke, founder and senior pastor of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries International, as its national president.
Oke was re-elected on February 13 during the group’s 18th biennial conference in Abuja with the theme “The Rebirth of a Great Nation.”
He defeated Archbishop John-Praise Daniel, founder and presiding bishop of Dominion Chapel International, to emerge victorious in the election in which some of the members of the National Advisory Council (NAC) formed the voting bloc.
NAC comprises the past presidents of the fellowship and some fathers of faith in Nigeria.
Some current members of the 29-member Council are, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, a former president and general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church, Uma Ukpai of Uma Ukpai Evangelical Association, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor of the Word of Life Bible Church, William Kumuyi of the Deeper Christian Life Bible Church, Felix Omobude of the New Covenant Church and Pastor Paul Enenche of Dunamis International Gospel Church.
Also members are Paul Adefarasin of House on the Rock Church, Rev. Samuel Aboyeji of Foursquare Gospel Church, Mercy Ezekiel of Christian Pentecostal Mission, Archbishop Margaret Idahosa of Church of God Mission, Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission and William Okoye of All Christian Fellowship Mission.
Oke and Daniel were first elected as national president and deputy president in 2021. However, in the recent election, Daniel challenged Oke in a keenly contested election which ended 15 votes to 12 in favour of the latter.
Ahead of the election, there was a fierce campaign against the re-election of Oke, who was accused of non-performance since he emerged president of the 40-year-old Fellowship four years ago.
Sources said this campaign pushed his deputy to enter the race for the fellowship presidency. However, Oke’s supporters dismissed the allegation, describing it as politically-motivated.
In a Facebook page, Oke, who once served as deputy president of PFN, said he was honoured to be re-elected and pledged that he would not discriminate against anyone in his second term in office.
“Honoured to be re-elected as the National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,” he said.
Oke is the seventh president of the Fellowship. Those who have led the group are
Cosmos Ilechukwu, former national secretary and general overseer of the Charismatic Renewal Ministries, was elected as the new deputy president while Bishop David Bakare, president and founder of the Jesus is Life World Outreach Ministries (JAWOM), emerged as the new secretary. Bakare was the deputy national secretary in the former executive council.
Daniel pledges loyalty to Oke
Meanwhile, Daniel has accepted the outcome of the election in the spirit of sportsmanship and pledged loyalty to Oke.
While ministering on Friday February 14, the last day of the conference, he said, “We had an election and our president (Oke) won. We have to keep the tradition of the PFN. That is to show my good spirit of sportsmanship. We are together in this business. He has my loyalty. There is no gainsaying….”
Daniel said he and Oke met that morning and they discussed how they knew each other in Ibadan in the 80’s before becoming leaders of the PFN.
“Failure is not fatal (and) success is not final. Success and failure are parts of life’s journey. When you lose, you try more and more,” he stated further recalling how some inventors, including Michael Faraday failed several times before succeeding in their inventions.
PFN past leaders
Since it was founded in 1985, PFN, one of the five blocs of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has been led by seven presidents. They are Rev. James Boyejo of Foursquare Gospel Church (1985-1992), Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (1992-1995), Archbishop Benson Idahosa of Church of God Mission (1995-1998), Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (1998-2005), Pastor Ayo Ortisejafor of the Word of Life Bible Church (2005-2013), Felix Omobude of New Covenant Gospel Church (2013-2021) and Wale Oke (2021 till date).
