Christian leaders, clergymen, government officials, members of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries and other dignitaries are expected to converge on Ibadan as the Presiding Bishop of Sword of the Spirit Ministries and National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Francis Wale Oke, marks his 70th birthday.

The birthday celebration, scheduled to climax with a thanksgiving service on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at Cornerstone City, Ibadan, will feature a 10-day programme of activities.

According to a statement by the Media Bureau of Sword of the Spirit Ministries, the celebration will commence with the ministry’s yearly Holy Ghost Convention from Sunday, August 30 to Sunday, September 6, 2026, at Cornerstone City, Km 22, Ibadan-Lagos Expressway.

The programme will be followed by a Night of Tributes on September 7, providing an opportunity for family members and others to celebrate Oke’s life, ministry and contributions to Christianity.

The grand finale, the statement said, would be the 70th birthday thanksgiving service on Tuesday, September 8, when the celebrant and his loved ones are expected to give thanks to God for seven decades of life and service.

The statement described Oke as a prominent figure in Nigeria’s Pentecostal movement, an educationist and a globally recognised cleric committed to preaching the Christian faith and raising a new generation of Christian leaders.

It said the milestone was not merely a celebration of age but an occasion to acknowledge what it described as God’s grace upon Oke’s life and his contributions to the advancement of the gospel in Nigeria and beyond. (Guardian)