2023: PFN, Keyamo clash over bishops’ visit to Tinubu

By Tunde Opalana

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, on Sunday, clashed over the visit of some of members of the Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria who met with Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate, on Friday.

Recall that Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, his running mate, are both Muslims, a development that the PFN and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have condemned.

While the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) said it has no affiliation with the Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria and that Northern bishops who met with Tinubu are on their own, Keyamo advised the organisation to stop dabbling into politics, adding that Pastors are to lead people to salvation, not preach politics.

In an interview with an online newspaper, The Cable, on Sunday, David Bakare, deputy national secretary of the PFN, said it the body has no affiliation with the Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria and “there is nothing in PFN that is regional based like southern or northern Pentecostal bishops.”

The PFN, according to Bakare, is a branch of CAN, adding that the opposition to the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket has not changed.

“The meeting between Tinubu and the Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria has nothing to do with the PFN,” he said.

“I am speaking to you officially and authoritatively that the ranks of the Christian community, and of course, the PFN which I represent is not broken at all.

“The Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria is not known to the PFN. The forum does not have any affiliation or relationship with the PFN that is registered with the government of this nation.

“The position of the PFN on same faith ticket still stands as it was in the beginning and we have not, for any reason, shifted our position on that matter.

“The PFN is 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 organisation. We didn’t take such a decision, we have not met that political party and whatever we will do would be in the public domain.

“That group is on their own and has nothing to do with the real incorporated PFN. I looked at the photos (from the meeting) and the names. I could recognise about two people who are our members, but they speak for themselves.”

Bakare added that all Pentecostal leaders in Nigeria speak with one voice.

“As a matter of fact, the PFN does not have any settings for bishops. What we have is PFN, we do not separate bishops of Pentecostal from other clergies of Pentecostal,” he said.

“Individuals can form an association but when it comes to the body called PFN, there is no change in our position and we have not authorised anybody to hold a meeting.”

Reacting, Festus Keyamo, spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council, said pastors should stop dabbling into politics.

Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on Sunday, Keyamo said the PFN has no right to criticise the decisions of the ruling party.

He said: “The PFN are not members of our party. They should go and vote that day.

“They should not be coming to question the decision of our party publicly. The purpose of pastors or their duty is to lead people to heaven not to lead people to [presidential] villa.

“If I go to church every Sunday, I want to hear the sermon of God and I don’t want to hear the sermon of politics or who should rule me.

“I want to hear the sermon of God and what will lead me to salvation and not what to lead me to the villa.”

‘Nigerians are hungry, not bothered about religion‘

Commenting on the APC’s campaign strategy for the 2023 elections, Keyamo said the party will present to Nigerians the performance of Tinubu during his time as governor of Lagos.

The minister added that Nigerians are too hungry to be bothered about issues bordering on religion.

“Nigerians are hungry, they want to see how that hunger will be addressed, not how their Christian or Muslim faiths will be addressed,” he said.

“They want to see our policies on agriculture and what Asiwaju has done before as governor of Lagos state, how he improved Lagos and how he will bring that kind of posterity to Nigeria as a whole.”