Dr. Oliver Ali Aba, the Prelate elect of the Methodist Church of Nigeria (MCN), has been installed as the 4th Prelate and 9th head of the church in Nigeria.
Dr. Samuel Emeka Kalu Uche, JP, who retired at the age of 70, is replaced as Prelate by Aba, who is 62.
The 48th Biennial Conference of the Methodist Church was held on August 15, 2022, at Methodist Cathedral Unity, Wuse Zone 3, FCT, Abuja, according to a statement by the Conference Secretary, Dr. Babatunde Taiwo, that the investiture was following the provisions of Section 23 (iv) of the Constitution of the Methodist Church and also by the resolution of the conference.
The outgoing Prelate, who gave his successor the church’s symbol of authority, including a staff of office, during the solemn and divine service held at Methodist Church of the Trinity, Lagos, during which the new Prelate and his tenure were given over to the Almighty God, urged him to be bold, courageous, focused, and to always call a spade a spade.
Kalu remarked that problems will arise and counseled Aba to put on his “thinking cap,” to be prayerful, and most essential, to make holiness his watchword. He recalled how church members he claimed to know attempted to assassinate him with poison during his reign.
He also described his experience of being held captive by kidnappers a few months earlier and thanked the church for their prayers and the N100 million ransom they raised to secure his release in just 26 hours.
The cleric briefly discussed politics before praising Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his “excellent work” and assuring him of his support for a second term.
Speaking to reporters at the event, the new prelate, who is also chairman of the Methodist Board for Theological Education, pledged to carry on from where his predecessor left off, noting that the previous church leaders had already created the groundwork for doing so.
He emphasized that they badly require them for their activities, notably evangelism, and that his top objective is to construct what he called Methodist Church Radio and Television Stations.
