Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP), has stated that he does not campaign but rather makes frequent visits to churches to ask congregants for prayers for his campaign.
Obi revealed this in a statement released by Diran Onifade, Head of Media for the Obi-Datti Campaign Organization, on Thursday in Abuja.
According to the statement, the former governor of Anambra’s church trips were consistent with his character and not motivated by politics as certain opposition parties have suggested.
It further revealed that in his campaign to become the next President of Nigeria in 2023, Obi was not advancing any sectarian or religious interests, stressing that his candidacy was entirely motivated by a patriotic desire to create a new Nigeria.
Attempts to paint the LP flagbearer as a supporter of sectarian interests in an effort to undermine his current popularity as the clear favorite of most Nigerians, according to the statement, will fall flat.
It was highlighted that past attempts by Obi’s critics to portray him as a simple social media candidate without any physical political infrastructure had failed, which is why new propaganda was being used.
The statement reads:
“It said because of Obi’s high visibility, mischievous people see his frequent appearances at churches or secular programmes as religious adventures with political undertones, pointing out that anyone knowledgeable about the LP flag bearer’s past knows that he has always been a regular sight at church services irrespective of the denomination.
“Even as Governor, Obi has always been involved in religious issues whether Christianity or Islam. He always seeks prayers for himself from those around him including subordinates because he sees himself as a child of God’s abundant grace and therefore needs constant supplications.
“As Governor, Obi sponsored Muslims to Mecca for Hajj and always urged them to pray for him. Obi, although a Catholic, has not limited himself to his faith even before becoming a presidential candidate. We recall vividly that when Pastor Adeboye visited Anambra state to dedicate a church built by one of the top Anambra citizens in Nnewi, Obi was physically there with the revered Pastor.
“These instances are verifiable to buttress the fact that the LP Presidential flag bearer has been consistent in his way of life as it relates to his faith, prayers and relationship with his maker.
“There is nowhere he gave a kobo to any church or pastor. We also understand the frustration of Obi’s opponents who lack the physical and mental strength to go around seeking God’s face in his project and have chosen the easy way, which is blackmail and slander.
“Having seen their previous attempts at whittling down Obi’s popularity among Nigerian founders in the most spectacular manner, they are currently embarking on another miserable attempt at derailing what is obviously a fast-moving train. Their mission now is to label Obi a jingoist of religion and tribe in a bid to curry favour with other religious or ethnic interests.
“If Obi is to be cubby-holed, he should be seen as a candidate of the youths and the poor in society whom he identified as the victims of successive federal administrations. While Obi is making frantic efforts to market himself to the Nigerian people with issue-driven campaigns, his detractors are busy trying hard to tag him as a candidate of one faith. But the plain and irreducible truth is that Obi’s candidacy cuts across every divide.” He said.
