The President-General of the Charismatic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Leonard Bature Kawas, has alleged that some individuals are sponsoring banditry, kidnapping and terrorism to discredit President Bola Tinubu and frustrate his administration.

Kawas made the allegation on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, while defending the bishops’ recent endorsement of Tinubu for a second term in the 2027 presidential election.

The cleric also dismissed suggestions that the endorsement was financially motivated, insisting that none of the bishops received money for supporting the President.

“Today, this endorsement has not given us any one naira. No one naira has been given to us. We did it because, based on current happenings in our nation, the sabotage of people sponsoring banditry and sponsoring kidnapping and all these things just to give Tinubu a bad name,” he said.

Kawas compared the situation to the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that similar efforts were made at the time to portray the former President negatively.

“That is why we decided that since it is a proven fact and there are international intelligence on this that some people are sponsoring all this banditry and terrorism just to give Tinubu a bad name to frustrate his government and to blackmail him and blacklist him,” he said.

The cleric said the bishops were convinced that insecurity was being exploited by unnamed individuals to weaken Tinubu’s government, adding that this influenced their decision to support the President’s re-election bid.

“That is why we say no. If that is the case, then it is Tinubu that we are going to support. So we are. We believe that we are being led to do so,” Kawas said.

Kawas said financial considerations would not determine the bishops’ political choices, arguing that they would support any candidate they believed was suitable regardless of whether they received financial benefits.

“If we participate in politics, and any blessing comes from it, fine and good. But where the blessing does not come financially, it also doesn’t matter so long as we are convinced that that is the right candidate,” he said.

He recalled the 2023 presidential election, when the bishops supported Peter Obi despite his reported position that he would not give money to Nigerians, saying financial inducement was not the basis for their support at the time.

“So, that is what happened as at the time when Peter Obi did not give any money to any Nigerian, he said he would give shishi, and that did not stop us,” Kawas said.

The endorsement by the bishops adds to the growing political activity around Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, with supporters and political groups increasingly making public cases for and against the President ahead of the election. (The Sun)