The Christian Association of Igbo Ministers (CAIM) has reacted to recent attack of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, by Rev. Father Mbaka of the Adoration Ministry.

The association, in a statement at the weekend, stated that what Father Mbaka erroneously termed as ‘stinginess’ was actually an exhibition of prudence in financial management.

The clerics, in a statement signed by Apostle (Dr.) Solomon C. Okorie, CAIM’s International President and Rev. Dr. Francis Ujunwa Simeon, the International Secretary, stressed that Nigeria now needed a leader who could prudently manage the country’s vast human, material and financial resources for the benefit of the citizenry, not a spendthrift.

The group stressed that “Peter Obi is the right man considering his antecedents. In recent times, the social and mainstream media have been awash with the story of Rev. Father Mbaka’s virulent attack on Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, asserting that he would fail in the 2023 presidential election because he is stingy.”

According to the clerics, Mbaka had vowed to close his Adoration Ministry if Obi ever won the election, even as he had urged his teeming parishioners not to vote for the LP candidate.

The CAIM alleged ‘stinginess’ of Peter Obi could be traced back 2018 when Father Mbaka reportedly asked Obi to publicly announce the specific amount he would donate to his Adoration Ministry.

Obi, it was gathered, wanted Father Mbaka to show him a specific project for him to execute, which did not go down well with the cleric, who allegedly warned that except Obi paid the money, he and Atiku Abubakar would not win the 2019 presidential election.

CAIM stated: “His grudge against Peter Obi persists to date despite the hypocritical apology he made to Obi at the behest of his superiors in the Church.

“What Father Mbaka erroneously termed as ‘stinginess’ is actually prudence in financial management. Nigeria now needs a leader who can prudently manage Nigeria’s vast human, material and financial resources for the benefit of the citizenry, not a spendthrift. Peter Obi is the right man considering his antecedents.

“Father Mbaka’s utterances and actions run afoul of Christian ministerial ethics. First, for a minister to harbour malice and bitterness against a Church member for over four years because of any perceived offence is really contrary to the doctrine of love.

”Secondly, it smacks of simony for a minister to curse any person because he/she fails to donate money or reciprocate in cash or in kind any ministerial service rendered.

“Donations given or gratitude expressed to a Church or its minister must be willingly and cheerfully done, not under duress or manipulation. God’s power is meant for the glory of God and the blessing of mankind, not an avenue for financial gain. God knows how to reward His ministers.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ healed 10 lepers, but only one came back to show appreciation. Jesus Christ did not curse the nine who did not come back to show appreciation whether in word, cash or kind.

“Why then should Father Mbaka curse Peter Obi? Who did he learn that from? Definitely not from Jesus Christ our Lord!” they added.

The group maintained that while Father Mbaka had the right to vote any presidential candidate of his choice, he should not hide under the cassocks to settle old scores.

CAIM stated that “with an imperial tone of finality, Father Mbaka ‘decreed’ that Peter Obi will never be Nigeria’s president because of his ‘stinginess’.

“Father Mbaka is abusing his prophetic office by whimsically arrogating to himself the power to decide who rules in a country. That power is exclusively God’s preserve because He is the only One that ‘deposes kings and sets up kings …’ He is the one “… that rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Dan. 2: 21; 4: 25,32).

“Father Mbaka’s public vilification against Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in pursuit of a personal vendetta, is a great disservice to the Igbo nation.

“It is most unfortunate that the only Igbo presidential candidate that enjoys nationwide acceptance is being demarketed by a supposedly enlightened priest who knows the current mood of Ndigbo. Like Brutus, Father Mbaka’s cut against Obi, is the “unkindest cut of all.

“We commend the Catholic Bishop of Enugu for the stern disciplinary actions taken against the errant priest for putting the ecclesiastical integrity of the Catholic Church in a bad light.

“In solidarity with Ndigbo worldwide, we condemn Father Mbaka’s utterances and actions which are not only inimical to Obi’s political interest but also against the collective aspiration of Ndigbo and Nigerians in general.

“We equally condemn in the strongest term, all Igbo persons who are playing the roles of spoilers to our political aspiration because of filthy lucre. Be warned,” CAIM added. (Daily Independent)

Update news