As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s Valentine’s Day, Bishop Israel Alaya has urged youths to see the celebration as a time to spread agape love, and not as an excuse to engage in sexual immorality.

Alaya, who is the Presiding Bishop of Dominion Bible Church International, Quarry, Abeokuta, insisted that the celebration is not for fornication or adultery, stressing that it has been observed over the years that hotels are typically filled on Valentine’s Day.

He spoke on Saturday during a Valentine walk themed “Living in Purity is Possible.”

DAILY POST reports that the Bishop led youths armed with placards bearing messages such as: “Say no to Rape, Say no to Adultery, No to Flirting, No to Child Abuse, No to Drug Abuse, No to Cheating, Purity in Government, Purity in Education, Purity in Entertainment, No Sex Until Marriage” along major roads around Quarry, Post Office, and Panseke.

Alaya explained that the walk aimed to create awareness, particularly for youths, and to emphasize that their bodies are not for sale.

He said, “The notion over the years is that when Valentine comes, from all our research, it’s a time when all hotels are booked, a time when people want to take someone to a hotel or other secluded places to have an affair. God’s idea concerning sex is that it should be confined to marriage, and anything outside of marriage is not acceptable.”

“The aim of today’s purity walk is to let the world know that our bodies are not for sale. Our bodies are not for fornication, nor for adultery; rather, they are the temple of God. God wants to dwell in us, and that’s the idea of love. We need to ask questions like: what is the meaning of love? If love means taking our daughters to bed in hotels, then that is not the will of God. It cannot move a nation forward. But if we define love as agape, in other words God’s kind of love, then we would be blessed by Him.”

He urged parents to become close to their children and to have sensitive discussions in an atmosphere of care and love, arguing that it would help them open up and prevent them from being deceived.

“We all have a role to play. Parents should be close to their children; don’t allow anyone to use money to take them away from you and, at the end, corrupt their lives.”

The clergyman also called on Nigeria’s leaders and governments at all levels to ensure that justice is dispensed with the right conscience and in a timely manner.

He noted that despite international communities releasing names of individuals sponsoring terrorism in the country, authorities have still failed to prosecute them, calling on the federal government to act.

“To our leaders, they should understand that there is a need to truly demonstrate what love is. For instance, if I love people, I will not take up a gun and terrorize others. So we are calling on the government to ensure that justice is done. If people are involved in terrorism, which is a crime, they should be prosecuted. Other nations are pointing out individuals who sponsor terrorism, yet our leaders remain silent. We are calling on them to do the right thing,” the Bishop added.

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Saturday endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term in office and formally received several defecting members of the National Assembly into its fold at a reception held in Osogbo.

The event, attended by party leaders, stakeholders and supporters, also featured renewed calls for unity within the party ahead of the 2026 governorship election and the 2027 general elections.

Speaking at the gathering, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy and immediate past governor of the state, Adegboyega Oyetola, said the achievements of President Bola Tinubu had positioned him for another term in office.

Oyetola stated that the APC was committed to building “a state where things work. Cooperation among party members would be crucial to electoral success.”

The Minister charged members to return to their various wards and strengthen grassroots mobilisation.

“We must go back to our base. Cooperation and unity are required if we are to win the governorship election in 2026,” he said.

The party’s governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, described the reception as the beginning of the countdown to victory in the forthcoming election.

Oyebamiji said the decision of the defecting lawmakers to join the APC demonstrated their commitment to the people of Osun State.

According to him, their action is a sacrifice made in the interest of the state.

“Our action today is a demonstration of our commitment to the people of Osun. Nothing is greater than to sacrifice for the people of the state,” he said.

He added that the development would bring stability at a time he claimed that the state was drifting towards administrative decline.

“The task before us today transcends individual ambition but safeguarding the future of our children,” Oyebamiji stated.

Urging stakeholders to maintain unity within the party, he stressed that cohesion was not negotiable and noted that the inclusion of the defectors placed them alongside others who had the interest of the state at heart.

“The APC in Osun State is one family. Every voice will count and every contribution will be valid,” he assured.

The Osun APC Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, described the defection of two serving senators and three members of the House of Representatives as unprecedented in Nigeria’s political history.

He said the development should serve as a signal to the current state administration that a political shift was imminent ahead of the August 8, 2026 governorship election.

“We have no doubt that your defection into the APC will bring about meaningful contributions to our party in the August 8, 2026 governorship and the 2027 presidential elections,” Lawal said.

He appealed to the defectors to remain committed to the party’s objectives and support future electoral efforts aimed at what he described as restoring the lost glory of the state.

Lawal assured them that they would not face discrimination within the party and called on members to work collectively for success in the coming elections.

He added that there could be no better time than now to endorse President Tinubu for a second term.

The motion for the endorsement for President Bola Tinubu for a second term was moved by Engr. Sola Akinwumi, Chairman of the Osun APC Elders Caucus, and seconded by Pa Shuaib Oyedokun, after which party members unanimously adopted it through a voice vote.

Those received into the party included Senator Francis Fadahunsi, representing Osun East Senatorial District; Senator Olubiyi Fadeyi of Osun Central Senatorial District; Wole Oke, representing Ijesa North Federal Constituency; Taofeeq Ajilesoro, Ife Federal Constituency; and Olusanya Omirin Olusanya, Ijesa South Federal Constituency.