The bishops, who attended the unveiling of Kashim Shettima as the running mate of Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have explained why they were at the event.

They said that their decision to attend the event was neither procured nor compelled, rather they chose freely to attend because of the person of Shettima.

Speaking on behalf of the bishops at a press conference, Prophet Ugochukwu Ugokwe Prince, Senior Pastor, Yoke Breakers Prophetic Ministry, Abuja and Founder, Muslims and Christian Love Foundation, said that they were there to express their goodwill.

He said: “Our decision to attend this event was neither procured nor compelled. Rather, we chose, freely, to attend due to our sincere and genuine desire to express our goodwill and lend our support to a man whose tenure as the Governor of Borno State heralded unprecedented support for the Christian faith in the region at the time.

“For several days now, we have watched with dismay the unwarranted controversy, insults on our persons, the abuse and the awful threats against our lives precipitated against our simple, patriotic attendance of an event.

“Our organization, Muslims and Christians Love Foundation is a religious organization with an objective of ensuring that a religious crisis does not precipitate within the Nigerian nation by any group or association.

“Where that is about to occur, our association has a divine responsibility either motivated or unmotivated to intervene. It is in the light of this that we found our attendance to the APC event necessary and patriotic, to this we owe our association and the nation a responsibility.”

Explaining further, Prophet Ugochukwu said: “Like hundreds of others, on the 20th of July, we were at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, to attend the formal unveiling of Senator Kashim Shettima as the running mate to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“We were therefore appalled to see our intentions misrepresented and our integrity called into question. For the avoidance of doubt, we have never attempted to portray ourselves as representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

“We went as clergymen and pastors called by God to serve in His vineyard and bring His word to our communities. This is a calling we have devoted ourselves to for several years. If anyone wishes to verify the truthfulness of this claim and maybe even join our respective ministries, we welcome you to visit our ministries.

“We thank those who have stood with us through this shocking experience. We will continue to pray for a peaceful and united Nigeria before, during, and after the 2023 General Elections. May God bless Nigeria and all Nigerians.”(Sunday Independent: Text, excluding headline)

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