Reports attributed to Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa accuse Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, of being uncharitable and accusing him of bringing the Church into politics for no other reason than the fact that he participates in church activities. Obi spoke via Mr. Valentine Obienyem, his Special Adviser on Media.
Obienyem claimed in a statement made accessible to the press that it was documented that Obi attended events he was invited to, including those hosted by churches. He questioned, "Should Obi start avoiding Church events because of politics, even though we know that Obi has visited more than 1,000 schools and hospitals owned by churches since leaving office in 2014, offering them all manner of support for upgrading their schools and hospitals that serve Nigerian citizens.
Obienyem warned against putting the Church's name into contempt, but added that those who did so were individuals who, even when it was completely needless, linked sincere acts of patriotism to politics.
Obienyem disagreed with Okowa on deciding who should be reached out to and who shouldn't, adding that the allusion to politics was irrelevant because electioneering had not yet begun. He questioned why Okowa thought it was improper for anyone to reach out to the churches. Is this not disrespectful toward churches? Everyone should participate in the initiatives to enshrine good governance because everyone is impacted by the bad governance in the nation.
He should be told about the difference between being politically aware and getting involved in active politics,” Obienyem said. He suspected that very soon they 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 the same.