Discordant tunes are once again coming to the fore in the spell of seeming harmony within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of a long four-month campaign stretch for the 2023 general elections, which officially kicks off on Wednesday, September 28.
Barely two days after the visit to the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has disowned the ‘Pentecostal Bishops’ Forum of Northern Nigeria,’ which met with Tinubu on Friday in Abuja. This is fallout from the uproar over the single faith ticket adopted by the ruling party for next year’s presidential polls.
Denouncing the clerics’ parley yesterday, the Deputy National Secretary of PFN, Bishop David Bakare, said such group does not exist within the PFN, saying, ‘there is nothing in PFN that is regional based like Southern or Northern Pentecostal Bishops.’
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‘The PFN was not part of the meeting with the presidential candidate that was highly politicised. We are, however, aware of the ripples in the public domain about this matter. I am speaking officially to clarify that PFN has nothing to do with that,” he stated.
Continuing, Bakare said: ‘The PFN is an arm of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the position of the fellowship on the same faith presidential ticket of the APC has not changed. I am speaking to you officially and authoritatively that the ranks of the Christian community and of course, the PFN, which I represent, is not broken at all.
‘The Pentecostal Bishops’ Forum of Northern Nigeria is not known to the PFN. The forum does not have any affiliation or relationship with the PFN that is registered with the government of this nation. The position of the PFN on same faith ticket still stands as it was in the beginning and we have not, for any reason, shifted our position on that matter.
‘I looked at the photos and the names. I could recognise about two who are our members, but they speak for themselves. All Pentecostal leaders in Nigeria, from the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Living Faith, Mountain of Fire, House on the Rock, among others, speak with one voice.
‘Finally, I wish to let you know that there is nothing in PFN that is regionally based like Southern or Northern Pentecostal Bishops. As a matter of fact, the PFN does not have any settings for Bishops. What we have is PFN, we do not separate Bishops of Pentecostal from other clergies of Pentecostal. PFN is just one body under which all Bishops, Pastors and members are lined up behind Bishop Francis Wale Oke, the President. We stand by our decision, we have not and will not bend to the dictate of any political group.’
Also, yesterday, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, said Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, would not give any role to Christians from the Northern part of the country.
Lawal also accused Tinubu and Shettima of dividing the church by hiring some “Christian turncoats and Judases” to achieve their aims at APC events.
