The Northern Pentecostal Bishops association have denied ever endorsing the the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
The clarification comes as controversy continued to trail the recent pictures of some clerics under the banner of “Northern Pentecostal Bishop” with APC presidential candidate in what appeared like a formal meeting.
Soon after, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, disowned the “Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria,” insisting that their position on rejection of same faith Muslim-Muslim Ticket still stands.
“The PFN was not a 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 the PFN has nothing to do with that,” the Deputy National Secretary of the PFN, Bishop David Bakare, said.
However, giving a clarification on the meeting with APC candidate, a member of the Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria,” Bishop Jonas Katung, in a statement on Friday stated that the meeting was never an endorsement.
He added that his group should be commended for bringing the plight of Northern Christians to the attention of the APC presidential candidate on his choice of Muslim running mate, rather than being condemned.
“As church leaders and concerned citizens, we, as a group of Pentecostal Bishops from Northern Nigeria, the region which is most aggrieved by the same faith ticket decision of the APC, decided to engage with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the person who is at the center of the controversy, to express the concerns and fears of the Christian community not only in Northern Nigeria but the country as a whole and to give him an opportunity to explain his decision.
“As Arc Bishop John Praise aptly captures it at the interface, “This is in line with the biblical principle as contained in John 7:51 that no one should be condemned without first giving him a hearing, a principle that is also encapsulated in the constitution of our country,” he said.
He also stated that during the meeting with Tinubu, notable and respected church leaders such as Arc Bishop John Praise, the national vice president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), and Rev Danjuma Byang all spoke to highlight the marginalisation and injustice meted out to Christians in the north over the years, which created mistrust among northern Christians about the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket.