Bishop Stephen Adegbite, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC), has remembered that Catholic Cardinal John Onaiyekan stated he would not acknowledge Bola Tinubu as President until the Supreme Court made a decision about the 2023 presidential election petitions.
Methodist bishop Adegbite revealed the information on Thursday while answering questions on TVC.
In response to political prophecies ahead of the 2027 presidential election, he advised Nigerians to evaluate political candidates on the basis of their performance rather than religious leaders’ predictions.
He claims that certain clerics who forecasted the results of the 2023 presidential election were shown to be incorrect.
According to Adegbite, Onaiyekan refused to acknowledge Tinubu as president after he declared himself the victor of the 2023 election, pending the resolution of the Supreme Court’s legal objections.
Cardinal Onaiyekan said in 2023 that he would not recognise President Tinubu until the Supreme Court rendered a decision.
However, we stated that Nigerians had cast ballots, we had a president, and you can only speak until the Supreme Court overturns the ruling. However, we told him that we had a president at the time, so why does he claim that we don’t have one?” he asked.
The head of the NCPC advised political figures and their followers to support their favourite candidates without disparaging rivals.
“You are free to choose your own candidate, but don’t disparage those of others. Promote your own candidate. He declared, “Let people see what your candidate has done to justify becoming the President of Nigeria.”
Adegbite added that Nigerians’ decisions before to the 2027 election would be influenced by the Tinubu administration’s performance.
He gave examples of ongoing infrastructure projects that could influence how the public views the administration, such as the Sagamu-Benin Motorway and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
“Mr. President’s work will speak for him,” Adegbite declared.
He also attacked the increasing practice of religious leaders making political predictions, claiming that some clerics do so in order to garner attention from the public and develop their social media following.
“All they want is attention.” He stated, “They aim to draw large crowds and traffic to their social media handles.