The lead pastor and founder of Celebration Church International, Apostle Emmanuel Iren, has clarified church vigils are not responsible for unproductivity as being claimed in some quarters.
He also asserted that no government official can criticise how Christians choose to worship.
Speaking during the church’s 12th-anniversary celebration in Ikeja on Sunday, Apostle Iren noted that while some churches may hold vigils for a period, no church holds vigils every night indefinitely.
He said, “Every day on the internet, you see someone say, instead of spending all this time in church having vigils every day, which church do you know that have vigils everyday, some might have vigils every day for a season but no church has vigils every day.”
The debate around vigils gained traction after former Anambra State governor Peter Obi’s comment on the Honest Bunch podcast.
Obi had linked Nigeria’s poverty and productivity issues to an excessive focus on religion and politics.
He suggested that Nigerians should replace nightly vigils with night shifts, arguing that too much time was being spent on church activities from Monday through Friday.
In response to Obi’s comments, Apostle Iren clarified, “Please don’t get me wrong, I have profound respect for the person who said this; it is part of my privileged roles in Christ and the body of Christ to set the record straight in some things like this.”
He challenged the assumptions surrounding church attendance, saying, “If churches don’t have vigils every day, then how often is too often? Twice a week? Three times a week?
“Do you realize, if you saw someone who goes to the gym every day, you won’t think he is wasting economic hours. Don’t you see that the bias is hidden.”
Apostle Iren further noted, “If someone hangs out with friends frequently, we call it ‘work-life balance.’ But if someone goes to church three times a week, suddenly, it’s seen as a lack of productivity.”
“Nobody who has been in government, past or present, has the right to make such a comment,” the cleric said.