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Osinbajo: RCCG replies Dele Momodu
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Presidential aspirant in sincere ignorance, says church
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has directed churches to create politics directorates.
Its Director of National Directorate of Politics and Governance (DPG), Femi Emmanuel, said this in a statement yesterday.
“Let no one read any negative or ulterior motives to the memo from the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). This is at our request and it is an answered prayer for us in DPG. This is what we have been asking our General Overseers (GOs) to do since. Many more will do so soon as we are in consultation with them.
“PFN/DPG is still at the level of building a grassroots base. We are still far from presenting candidates. Anyone talking of presenting candidates at this point does not know politics.
“Politics is at the grassroots. You can’t present candidates when you are not at the grassroots. You are at the back of the fence politically speaking.
“Where would you get candidates (Ward Officers) to vote for you at the primaries and party conventions? Is it angels that will vote for you?
“I appeal to all our GOs, especially those with national spread and others, to do what RCCG just did for us and connect their appointed officers to join us in this great effort as RCCG had done. We are eagerly waiting for others to do the same.”
Also, the RCCG has said its newly created Directorate of Politics and Governance is not meant to support only Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo’s presidential ambition but all church members involved in politics.
It issued a statement yesterday in response to an article by a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Mr. Dele Momodu, who warned the church against endorsing Osinbajo, a Pastor in the church, for the 2023 presidency.
Momodu said he found out that the new office was launched to create an extensive network for “the obvious presidential ambition of Osinbajo”.
He added that there would be a cataclysmic storm in the House of God if RCCG continued to embark on such “myopic” actions.
Though the statement by the RCCG did not name Momodu, it referred to him as “someone in sincere ignorance”.
The church explained that the new directorate is meant to “…help coordinate the engagement of our people who are willing to be involved in politics as well as mobilise support for them”.
It added: “The attention of the Assistant General Overseer (Admin & Personnel) regarding the internal instrument to Directorate of Politics and Governance in The Redeemed Christian Church of God that someone in sincere ignorance has dropped into the media, which has been drawn to reactions in the public to the function of the Directorate.
“We wish to state that: Nowhere in the statement is it mentioned nor insinuated that a particular political aspirant is being referred to. As would be expected, the Church has members that belong to several political parties, but would not itself get into partisan issues,” among others.
Also, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has said it had directed churches to create politics directorates.
PFN’s Director of National Directorate of Politics and Governance (DPG), Femi Emmanuel, said this in a statement yesterday.
“Let no one read any negative or ulterior motives to the memo from RCCG. This is at our request and it is an answered prayer for us in DPG. This is what we have been asking our GOs to do since. Many more will do so soon as we are in consultation with them.
“PFN/DPG is still at the level of building a grassroots base. We are still far from presenting candidates. Anyone talking of presenting candidates at this point does not know politics.
“Politics is at the grassroots. You can’t present candidates when you are not at the grassroots. You are at the back of the fence politically speaking.
“Where would you get candidates (Ward Officers) to vote for you at the primaries and party conventions? Is it angels that will vote for you?
“I appeal to all our GOs, especially those with national spread and others, to do what RCCG just did for us and connect their appointed officers to join us in this great effort as RCCG had done. We are eagerly waiting for others to do the same.”