Okowa under fire for calling Peter Obi ‘church candidate’

The Peter Obi media office has slammed Governor Ifeanyi Okowa over his recent comment about the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice presidential candidate had accused Obi of fanning the flames of religion.

“Peter Obi factor is as if he is trying to go through the church and make it look as if he is driving the Christians into politics.

“I do not believe that the church should actively go into politics because that is not their calling”, he told reporters.

In reply, Obi’s team said Okowa ignored the magnitude of the nation’s challenges and why Nigerians are rising in support of the ex-Anambra governor.

A statement on Thursday condemned the attempts to label Obi as an individual who places one religion against another.

The media office noted that Obi has been tagged a mere social media blitz without structure, and labelled an Igbo an associate of the indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).

The rejoinder described Obi as a driver of a movement whose membership and support cut across all facets of national life.

“In July 2021, he was at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Karu, Abuja, to attend the 25th anniversary of a priest and the church erupted when he was introduced.

“At various weddings in Abuja, Lagos, and all over the country, Nigerians celebrated him for what he stood for and what he did when he held public office in Anambra State.

“One of such functions was Dr Okowa’s child’s wedding at the National Ecumenical Conference Centre in Abuja, this year.”

“Taking back the country and rebuilding it is a task, there is no going back. The oppressors have forced the oppressed to pull the trigger and there is going back”, the statement added.