Tinubu insists his forged Bishops are genuine despite repudiation by CAN, PFN
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Bola Tinubu has raised his stakes to rule Nigeria by desperation and by scam by insisting that the artisans he dressed up as Bishops at his presentation of Kashim Shettima as his running mate in Abuja are genuine articles Christians should buy.
Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the viral videos and pictures of the fakery at the event were the handiwork of political detractors – despite repudiation of the forged Bishops by Christian organisations.
The two largest Christian bodies in the country, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), asked genuine Christians not to attend the ceremony, to avoid giving a hint of approval of Tinubu’s dark arts.
And the Catholic Church said it had no representation at the event and described as “impostors” those who appeared dressed in cassocks.
Tinubu’s denial also flies in the face of the claim by one of the scam Bishops, Joseph Odaudu, that Team Tinubu paid him N40,000 for the hatchet job but it makes him angry because it is a breach of their mutual agreement that he would paid N100,000.
“They came to meet us at the car park behind Eagle Square and they promised to give me N100,000. They bought food for us and took us to another place where they gave us clothes to dress like Christian leaders and reverend fathers,” Odaudu told The Gazette after the event on Wednesday at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja
“But after we finished they only gave me N40,000 and another person said they got only N30,000. I don’t know why they changed our agreement because they said they had N100,000 for us.
“I am a Christian and I am supporting Tinubu but I hate when people lie and fail to deliver on their promises.”
A statement Tinubu issued through The Tinubu Campaign Organisation (TCO) on Thursday skirted over the assertions of Christian bodies and the bribe allegation by his hired Bishops, and insisted that those at the event were genuine well-wishers.
“The event was an open affair, which allowed members of the public to attend, including the clergymen and some others now being derided by hirelings of the opposition.
“We want to say that those clergymen were not fake, not mechanics or yam sellers as the purveyors of hatred have made Nigerians believe in the social media. They are not big names in Christendom yet, they are gradually building up their missions.
“They are church leaders who genuinely believe that Nigerians must eschew politics of hatred and religious bigotry and rather embrace politics of peace and nation building,” said the statement Tinubu issued through TCO Media and Communication Director Bayo Onanuga.
“We, therefore, deplore the hysterical twisting of the presence of these men and women in cassocks and the false accusation against our candidates, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Shettima.”
________________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Team Tinubu paid me N40K bribe, says his fake Bishop
CAN disowns ‘Tinubu Bishops’ who attended Shettima’s unveiling
Lawal insists Tinubu’s Muslim cockup attacks Christians
________________________________________________________________________
Social media reaction
“The orchestrated social media sensation over the presence of the men is needless and all calculated to detract from the huge success recorded at the momentous event on Wednesday.
“We believe Nigerians are too wise and discerning to see through this shenanigan,” the statement added, per reporting by The Nation (owned by Tinubu).
“Asiwaju Tinubu and his running mate and our great party are working very hard to provide purposeful leadership and good progressive governance that will improve the quality of life of Nigerians.
“We are well aware that the opposition parties and the sponsors of the social media charade are jittery and threatened by the intimidating political credentials of our candidates.
“The only way they hope to shift the attention of public scrutiny away from their uninspiring candidates and credentials is to create social media distraction.
“Our campaign is determined on focusing on core governance issues that affect all Nigerians to confront them and make the desired improvements in the standard of living of our people.”