A former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, in Lagos on Wednesday accused Nigerian churches of patronizing the rich and worshipping money and wants them to stop such practice. He said the rich with questionable source of wealth should not be tolerated by the church.

Akinyemi gave the advice while speaking with journalists at the Centenary Anniversary Lecture of the Anglican Church held at All Souls’ Church, Lekki, Lagos.

The theme of the lecture, organised by the Diocese of Lagos, is ‘The Church and Good Governance”.

Akinyemi urged churches to continue to preach against the evil of abuse of office by public officials.

“The church has to stop showing favouritism towards rich people whose source of their wealth is questionable; the church should stop worshipping them,” he said.

The former minister urged churches in the country to stop worshipping money, adding that the church should have the courage to confront those in authority.

Also speaking, the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, said the present administration had made a lot of progress in the fight against corruption.

Sagay, who spoke on the topic, “The Role of The Church in Combating Corruption in Nigeria,” said that looted property worth about a trillion naira had been recovered in the last four years.

“My concern is that Nigerians don’t seem to be sufficiently impacted by the war against corruption. People are still shamelessly corrupt.

“Nigerians behave as if they are not aware that they are even corrupt and pretend to come to church on Sunday,” he said.

The Right Reverend Humphrey Olumakaye, Lord Bishop, Anglican Diocese of Lagos, said the church would continue to play its godly role in teaching the Christian virtues of transparency, honesty and righteousness in government.

He said that the day of reckoning was coming when everyone would give account of their stewardship on earth, while urging everyone not to be too attached to the things of the world. (NAN)