By KEMI KASUMU
Since their attendance at the unveiling of All Progressives Congress (APC) vice presidential candidate held in Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, questions have been raised as to the authenticity of some bishops and pastors because of a press statement by Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), which described them as mechanics, yam sellers among several other things.
The CAN, a supposedly religious apex group already soaked in pool of image crisis due to its decades of what even many Christians have now called unchristian, called the clerics fake bishops and pastors unknown as members of its body.
It said more among which was that the APC, Nigeria’s ruling party since it whipped 16-year-old in power Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) out of office in 2015, hired some of the so called mechanics it even also called thugs and dressed them in the toga of clergymen to pretend that Christians of the country are with its Muslim-Muslim joint ticket of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettima.
But confirmation from the mouth of one of the horses further vindicated the APC and busted the Christian Association of Nigeria’s many years of falsehoods supported by some Western collaborators mainly in United States of America against anything Islam, Muslim and Hausa-Fulani in Nigeria.
This came as one of the clergymen, who attended the unveiling of Kashim Shettima as the vice presidential candidate of the APC, reacted to the controversy that trailed their attendance following CAN’s claims and counter-claims that followed.
The DEFENDER gathered that many anti-APC reports regarding the unveiling, which included the purported DSS letter warning against the ticket destabilising the country, were all handiworks of CAN as now justified by activities of the Christian largely predicated on falsehoods.
The well known cleric, Igbokwe Prince, who is the senior pastor at Yoke Breaker Prophetic Ministry, Abuja, said he and other bishops and pastors at the unveiling attended the event on the said day because of their respect for the position of the party on Muslim-Muslim ticket.
He said most of the clergymen at the event had backed Yakubu Pam, the Executive Secretary of Christian Pilgrims Commission, as vice presidential candidate of the APC, but that when that option failed, they had to respect the decision of the APC on same faith ticket.
Pastor Prince, as captured in a video now circulating on social media, said Christians should accept that APC took the decision to win the election. He warned that religion should not be mixed with his politics.
“Christian communities and Christian organisations — I don’t think they are political parties. What the party (APC) has done is in the best interest of the party because every political party wants to win an election.
“We protested severally, we supported Rev Yakubu Pam, a Christian, the Executive Secretary of the Christian Pilgrimage Board, to be fielded as a running mate, the party decided what is best for them to win the election.
“When you bring religion inside a political party, it will definitely not augur well— not give them the edge to win an election,” he said.
The DEFENDER reported Friday Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)’s exposition of CAN as having lied about identity of the bishops, calling attention of Western Embassies in Abuja, especially United States of America and United Kingdom to the lies the Christian leaders invited by US Congress to tell dangerous lies against Nigerian Muslims are made to peddle.
MURIC, in one of its reactionary dispositions to CAN lately especially over the Christian leaders ostensibly orchestrated anti-Islam agenda, had said:
“The attendance of the unveiling of Tinubu’s running mate two days ago and the attempt by CAN to paint the Christian clerics who attended the event as fake is another attempt by Nigeria’s Christian leaders to divide the country, whip up anti-Muslim sentiments and promote anarchy. CAN has shot itself in the foot. It insists that no Christian should vote for Tinubu’s party but it forgot that at least a Christian cleric is the gubernatorial candidate in Benue State. CAN should permanently close this can of worms and never open it again.
“Whereas Paul says, ‘Do not lie to one another’ (Colossians 3:9-10) Christian leaders find it expedient to pour torrents of lies on their followers. CAN leaders wilfully ignore the warning in Proverbs, ‘…He who breathes out lies will perish’ (Proverbs 19:9). Christian leaders are adept at crying wolf where there is none. They raise false alarm to cause confusion.
“It is good that this attempt has been debunked and CAN leaders exposed as pathological liars. We call the attention of Western embassies in Nigeria, particularly American and British embassies to these monumental falsehoods. These are the same Christian leaders who are invited by the American Congress to spread toxic information about Nigerian Muslims.
“We Nigerian Muslims are willing to peacefully coexist with our Christian neighbours but we are wary of the strong propensity of Christian leaders to tell lies from the pit of hell without blinking an eyelid.
“There have been so many instances in the past and, without doubt, many more to come so long as the West continues to give them listening ears without crosschecking the details and without caring to hear from the other side. The world is in grave danger if the champions of democracy continue to promote lopsided hearing.” #CANLied #USEmbassyNote #BritishEmbassyNote
