A spokesperson for the Labour Party presidential campaign council, Kenneth Okonkwo, has reacted to the alleged phone call between the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi and the founder of the Living Faith Church, a.k.a Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, on the eve of the February 25th presidential election.
In a statement on Sunday through his Twitter account, Okonkwo said oppositions were making efforts to spin the conversation between the former Anambra governor and the man of God into a religious statement.
In affirmation that the former governor had a discussion with the clergyman, Okonkwo clarified that Obi only demanded the Bishop to help drive the message of the equal stake of all Nigerians in the Nigerian project because of the impression the ruling party used in deriving its campaign.
He emphasized that Obi never discriminated against any religion as his running mate, Datti-Baba Ahmed is a Muslim.
“Our attention has been drawn to the publication of this audio tape of a private conversation between @peterobigregory and Bishop Oyedepo. It is not surprising that these political criminals are trying to spin the conversation as if Obi was making a religious statement.
“Firstly, the context of the conversation was aptly put by Bishop Oyedepo when he said, “All Nigerians have an equal stake in this nation, nobody has the right to claim that he is dashing something to someone.
“His Excellency Peter Obi was simply urging the Bishop to help him push this message of an equal stake of all Nigerians in the Nigerian project to his people and the Christendom because the politicians of the other party are carrying on this campaign as if it is a religious war.
“To drive home this point, he informed him that he visited the traditional ruler of Offa, the Olofa of Offa, who is a Muslim but who advised Obi to get the support of Oyedepo and be assured of his own support. No Politician has ever visited the Olofa of Offa
“It is clear to everybody that the APC political party has a Presidential Candidate, Vice Presidential Candidate, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and National Chairman of the Party all from one religion at a time the CJN is a Muslim is the Party that has declared religious war on Nigerians and we must all rise together to fight this unconstitutional act of religious intolerance of other religions by APC.
“I went around with Obi on campaign train and never saw him discriminate against any religion. Of course, he can’t because his Vice is a Muslim, unlike APC. I resigned from APC because of their religious intolerance. Nigerians should disregard any insinuation of religious bigots about this tape,” he tweeted.
