PFN President, Bishop Oke, noted that since the return of democracy in 1999, the presidency has been rotated between Christians and Muslims
The position of PFN may jeopardize the aspirations of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Gov Bola Ahmed Tinubu
By Kehinde Okeowo
The National President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop (Dr) Francis Wale Oke, has revealed that religion is a vital consideration in deciding who rules Nigeria next.
He made this known while speaking at the quarterly meeting of the National Executive Council of the Fellowship in Lagos.
According to the PFN President, in recent times, politicians have made religion a crucial factor in determining who governs the country.
Bishop Oke also said a Christian must be put in the saddle in 2023 since a president of the Islamic faith has been in power for the last eight years.
The seventh PFN President noted that since the return to democracy in1999, the presidency has been rotated by people of Christian and Muslim faiths, and PFN wants this to continue.
“We do not think it is right to have another Muslim president, come 2023. A Muslim President would have governed for 8 years, by 2023. The Church has been fully supportive of him. We prayed and supported him.
“We don’t regret it. But now, we want a Christian President. They should consider that.
“What is right is right. If you watch it, right from 1999, it’s been alternating, Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and consider that shouldn’t be from President Buhari to another Muslim President. That will not be fair. Let us do what is right. God is a God of justice”. he said.
When faced with the argument that competence rather than religion or ethnicity consideration should be the basis for choosing the next president, the Bishop has this to say:
“The argument that it should not be about tribe or religion is good, but it is idealistic, we should be pragmatic.
“Whether we like it or not, religion has become a major factor in the politics of Nigeria. They brought it in and have brought it in, we are in it together and we are saying, we want a Christian President.
The 65-year-old PFN president also added that his view is that of millions of Nigerians, whom our politicians have indoctrinated this way.
“That is speaking for the teeming millions of Nigerians. Since the political gladiators have brought in the factor of religion, let’s play it according to the way it is. Nothing else is acceptable.”
Bishop Oke also addressed other pressing issues in the country, such as insecurity, rising inflation in the Nigerian economy, as well as dilapidating education and health sectors.
The stance of PFN that a Christian must succeed President Mohammadu Buhari, in 2023, puts the aspirations of two major political gladiators, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Gov Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in jeopardy since they are of the Islamic faith.
