‘Mbaka remains my priest’, Peter Obi responds to cleric’s stingy man comment

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) on Sunday, responded to the blistering comments made about him by an outspoken Catholic priest, Ejike Mbaka.

Mr Mbaka said Mr Obi will not be president of Nigeria in 2023 because he is a “stingy man who does not hand out money to people” at his weekly ministration service on Wednesday.

He said Mr Obi’s aspiration to become President of Nigeria would be futile unless he returned to his ministry to apologize for refusing to make a donation when he was asked to do so.

Many Nigerians chastised him for his remark, including the Catholic Diocese of Enugu.

Later, the preacher apologized to the former governor of Anambra State and his followers, claiming that his intention was not to discredit the LP presidential contender.

Callistus Onaga, the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, forbade Catholics from attending activities at the cleric’s ministry on Friday.

Read also:Protests rock Adoration ground over ban on Fr Mbaka’s ministry

Nonetheless, Mr Obi stated on Sunday, while appearing as a guest on Voice of the People FM in Lagos, that he has no “problem” with the preacher.

Despite his reaction, he stated that he still loves and respects Father Mbaka.

For me, Father Mbaka is an ordained priest of God. And as a priest, he remains my priest. And I will always respect and show my allegiance to the (Catholic) church.

“Whatever he says, I will take it because he is my father in faith. And I respect him any day. And he is my brother. We are close.

“Whenever he (Mr Mbaka) says something wrong, I pray over it. If he says something right, I pray over it. So, mine are prayers. Whatever he does, I love him.

“This is me because he is a priest of God. I don’t have any problem with him. Whatever he says, I will put it in prayers,” Obi stated.

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