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The presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, has reacted to the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who accused him of dragging the Church into politics.
Obi said he had no apologies to offer for attending church activities.
Obi’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Valentine Obienyem said in a statement that it was on record that Obi attended programmes he was invited to, including those organised by the Churches.
“Should Obi start shunning Church events because of politics, even when we know that since leaving office in 2014, he has visited over 1,000 schools and hospitals owned by the Churches, offering them all manner of support for the upgrade of their schools and hospitals that serve the citizens of Nigeria?” Obienyem said.
While cautioning against bringing the name of the Church into disrepute, Obienyem said those doing such were deliberately linking genuine actions of patriots to politics, even when it was absolutely unnecessary.
According to Obienyem, making reference to politics was unnecessary because electioneering had not started and disagreed with Okowa on distinguishing those to be reached out to or not.
He asked: “Why would the PDP vice presidential candidate suggest that it is wrong for anybody to reach out to the churches? Is this not contemptuous of churches?”
He observed that most Nigerians were affected by the bad governance in the country and should expectedly be involved in efforts to enthrone good governance.
He said the Delta State governor should be told about the difference between being politically aware and getting involved in active politics, adding that very soon some people would start to criminalize the encounter Obi is having with Nigerians in Diaspora.
Assuring Nigerians that Obi would not get tired of preaching to Nigerians about good governance and the need for the people of Nigeria to take back their country, Obienyem called on other patriots to join in the crusade, rather than wishing people to keep quiet so that the status quo would remain.
