The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has advised pastors and other clerics to avoid political predictions.
He stated this in an interview in Abuja on Saturday.
Keyamo, the spokesperson for the All Progressive Congress Campaign Council, urged them to “face their core mandates” and avoid throwing their weight behind some candidates.
He said, “Having pastors tilt towards a particular candidate is a good thing for the country, but after they fail, they will now go back to their core mandate.”
“It is a mistake they are making and it is important they make it. I thought they would have learnt their lessons to separate the church from politics in 2015; they have not.
“Only God alone can give and dictate to whom he gives power. God has not given them that mandate to choose who should rule over a nation. However, when you are trying to make that mistake, God will take back their mandate to win souls.
“They made a mistake, threw their act in the ring in 2015 and supported a candidate they lost, same in 2019, and now, they are doing that.
“I am a Christian, I grew up preaching from house to house, and we were told they do not dabble in politics. Their duty is to lead people into the kingdom of God and not to (the Presidential) Villa.
“Villa is not heaven. “God is allowing this to happen now because, after 2023, they would realise the mistakes they have made and that they have plunged the church into where they should not have.”