Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
Festus Keyamo (SAN), the minister of state for labor and employment and spokesman for the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign, has counseled pastors and other religious leaders to draw lessons from 2015 and refrain from endorsing specific candidates ahead of the general election in 2023.
Keyamo also urged the clergy to “face their core missions” in an exclusive conversation with our Abuja-based reporters.
He declared, “Having pastors support one candidate over another is excellent for the nation, but if that candidate loses, they will return to their original mission. They are making a mistake, but it is crucial that they continue to do so. In 2015, I had hoped they would have learned their lesson and kept politics and religion apart, but they have not.
“Only God is able to grant power and decide to whom he grants it. God has not given them the authority to pick a leader for a country. God, however, will revoke their mandate to win souls if you attempt to commit that error.
They made a mistake when they supported a losing candidate in 2015 and again in 2019, and now they are repeating that error. We were admonished that Christians don’t become involved in politics, and I grew up preaching door to door. They have a responsibility to guide people into God’s kingdom rather than the Presidential Villa. Heaven is not a villa. God is allowing things to happen now so that they will see their errors and that they have led the church in the wrong direction by 2023.
The senior counsel responded, “There is no persecution going on,” when challenged about the Muslim-Muslim ticket of his party and the allegations of Christian persecution in Nigeria. The vice presidential candidate’s position cannot safeguard their interests if they are seeking to do so. The VP has complete deference to the President. If such were the case, why are they complaining about Buhari’s prosecution? There are three branches of government: the executive, legislative branch, and judicial branch.
“The Senate President is the only one who has the authority to check and initiate an impeachment motion against the President. That can’t be done by the VP. If they believe we are trying to Islamize the nation, which is untrue, they should go find the Senate President candidate and work tirelessly to make sure he wins.
“They are not currently performing that calculation. The APC is supported as the optimal calculation. The majority in the Senate will most likely be produced, and we will negotiate for the Senate President to be someone who will represent their interests. Instead of going the way they are, it is what they ought to be doing.
It is virtually impossible to convert Nigeria to Islam. constitution There is nothing to worry about. The chapel church will operate, and my candidate’s wife is a preacher,” he continued.
