Bishop Stephen Adegbite, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), has said that Catholic Cardinal John Onaiyekan refused to recognize him as president after the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election until the legal challenges at the Supreme Court were cleared.
The disclosure was made by Adegbite while fielding questions on TVC, it was reported. Adegbite is a Methodist bishop.
Adegbite quoted Onaiyekan as saying that he would not recognize Tinubu as President until the Supreme Court rules on the 2023 presidential election petitions.
He said, “In 2023, when President Tinubu was declared winner, Cardinal Onaiyekan said he would not recognize Mr President until the Supreme Court gives its verdict.
But we said Nigerians have voted and we have a President and till the decision is upturned by the Supreme Court that is when you can talk. But for him to say we don’t have a president, we told him at that time that we have a president.”
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The NCPC boss called on political actors and their supporters to promote their choice candidates without attacking opponents.
“You can have your own candidate, but don’t run down somebody else’s candidate,” he said. Sell your own candidate . “Let the people see what your candidate has done to deserve to be the President of Nigeria.”
He added that the performance of the Tinubu administration would also influence the decision of Nigerians ahead of the 2027 election. “The Tinubu administration is currently rolling out infrastructure projects across the country. “Projects like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sagamu-Benin Expressway are projects that could shape the public perception of the Tinubu administration.
“The work of Mr President will speak for him,” he said.
He further condemned the growing trend of political prophecies by religious leaders, alleging that some clerics make such declarations to attract public attention and increase their social media following.
Adegbite stressed that some clerics who predicted the outcome of the 2023 presidential election were proven wrong.
“They just want attention,” he said. “They want to bring traffic and crowds to their social media handles.