WRITTEN BY ROWLAND OBIKOBE
Christians will, tomorrow, Saturday, September 15, 2018 converge on Saint Andrew’s Diocesan Church Centre,

Nnewi for a special thanksgiving service by the Archbishop, Ecclesiastical Province of the Niger, and Lord Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, His Grace, Most Reverend Godwin Izundu Nmezinwa Okpala JP (OON). The service is for God’s abundant mercies and blessings, especially his recent elevation and presentation as the third Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Niger.
The ceremony, which will commence by 9am, is expected to attract litany of clergy, Archbishops and Bishops, including the retired ones within and beyond. According to the Chairman of the Thanksgiving Planning Committee, Brother Humphrey Ngonadi, NGOBROS, Archbishop Okpala will also use the event to celebrate his sixty-ninth birthday anniversary.
It would be recalled that the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, presented the Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Professor Godwin Okpala as the third Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Niger on Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The presentation was made by the Archbishop Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria, His Grace, Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh, at Saint Mathew’s Cathedral, Sakponba in Benin City, Edo State.
Bishop Professor Godwin Okpala, was elected during the just-concluded standing committee of the Church of Nigeria in Ilorin, Kwara State, on February 6, 2018. The Ecclesiastical Province of the Niger is made up of nine Dioceses. They include Aguata, Awka, Amichi, Niger and Mbammili. Others are Niger-West, Ogbaru, Ihiala and Nnewi dioceses.
The first Archbishop of the Niger province was Most Reverend M.S.C Anikwenwa OFR, while the second was the Most Reverend Christian O. Efobi JP. The third Archbishop of the Niger Province, Bishop Okpala, hails from Ikenga Village in Adazi-Ani, Anaocha Local Government Area.
Bishop Okpala, who was born on September 17, 1949, attended Saint Jude’s Primary School, Adazi-Ani; Ife Grammar School, Ife, Ezinifite and Oraukwu Grammar School. He also went to Trinity Theological College, Umuahia and the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
At an Episcopal synod in Benin City on December 2, 1995, he was elected a Bishop and consecrated on  February 11, 1996 at the Cathedral Church of All Saints Wuse, Abuja, and enthroned on February 14, 1996 at the Pro-Cathedral, now Cathedral Church of Saint Mary, Uruagu Nnewi.
He obtained the First School Leaving Certificate, the West African School Certificate, Diploma in Theology (Umuahia) and another Diploma in Theology in London. He also bagged Bachelor of Arts at (UNN). Cornerstone University of Hawaii, USA awarded him Doctor of Divinity (Honoris Causa). Bishop Okpala is a Professor of Theology at the University of the Caribbean, British Virgin Island. All these equipped him intellectually and spiritually to superintend the nine Dioceses of the Niger Province.
Bishop Okpala was a Church Teacher at Saint Mark’s Church, Nnewichi, Nnewi; Deacon, All Saints’ Cathedral, Onitsha, and Assistant Priest/Curate of the same Cathedral. He was also Assistant Priest/Curate, then Saint Faith’s Pro-Cathedral, Awka; curate, Christ Church, Onitsha; District superintendent, Saint Andrew’s Church, Obosi; Honorary Canon, Archdeacon, Nnewi Archdeaconry and Bishop, Nnewi Diocese.
Bishop Professor Godwin Okpala has received various institutional, national and international honours and awards among which are Bishop Uzodike award; Grand patron, Nnewi Group Council of Boys’ Bridge; Merit Award, Anambra State Development Foundation; Life Member, Bible Society of Nigeria and Paul Harris Fellow Award of the Rotary Club. Others are National Honours Award – Order of the Officer of the Niger (OON); Ambassador of Peace and National Development Merit Award. Bishop Okpala recorded far-reaching achievements in life, including Bible Study Coordinator, Anglican Students Association of Nigeria, UNN Chapter; Youth Chaplain, All Saint’s Cathedral, Onitsha; Member, 20-man Peace Panel that restored peace at Adaz-Ani lingering Chieftaincy tussle in 1985; National Patron, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Youth Fellowship; Member, Elders Forum, Anambra State and member, Ohanaeze, Anambra.
Bishop Professor Godwin Okpala is married to Mrs. Eugenia Okpala, Nnebuife, and they are blessed with children. His home church is Saint Jude’s Anglican Church. His hobbies are swimming and reading while his philosophy of life is hinged on truth, justice and fair play.
So, as Bishop Professor Godwin Izundu Nmezinwa Okpala (OON) marks his sixty-ninth birthday and holds a special thanksgiving as the third Archbishop of the Niger Province at the Saint Andrew’s Diocesan Church Centre, Nnewi tomorrow, lovers of God and government functionaries are expected.
Happy Birthday and Congratulations your Grace.

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