Former Governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Peter Obi has urged his supporters to overcome the temptation of attacking controversial Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka over his prediction of woe for the Alhaji Atiku Abubakar presidential ambition.
Mbaka, who is the Spiritual Leader of the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry in Enugu had on Sunday warned that the Atiku campaign project might fail if the PDP presidential candidate failed to come to confer with him.
The Catholic Priest was seen in a viral video of the Bazaar and Thanksgiving Programme urging Obi, who was present at the event to make donations to the church, warning him that God hates stingy people.
Speaking at the ceremony, Obi had promised to confer privately with the Priest on what he would donate but Mbaka insisted that it was deceitful for Obi to come to his church and fail to part with any money.
Fr. Mbaka, who also spoke in Igbo kept asking Obi if Atiku did not give him anything to bring to the church. Fr. Mbaka’s utterances however infuriated Obi’s supporters, majority of whom took to social media to attack the priest.
According to a statement released through his media aide, Val Obienyem, Obi urged the people and his supporters to restrain from attacking Fr. Mbaka as his understanding of what he said was different, urging them to instead put him in prayers.
“I have personally reached out to many people restraining them from attacking Fr. Ejike Mbaka because of their love for Peter Obi. If you truly respect Obi, please and please, do not attack Fr. Mbaka,” the statement read.
It added: “In the first instance, His Excellency does not interpret the comments of Fr. Mbaka the way several observers do. While one may disagree with him, we should always acknowledge that he speaks and acts from the higher perspective of wisdom.
“His Excellency believes that every situation, however unpleasant has positive lessons for us. Please let us leave Fr. Mbaka alone. Our duty to him is prayers for God to lead him aright.”
Obi also regretted that the argument at the Adoration Ground in Enugu cost his younger brother, who is also a Catholic Priest some engagements both in Onitsha and Lagos the same day.
“Father Obi who joined his elder brother to Enugu for the service was billed to return to Lagos but because of the delay as a result of arguments between Mbaka and Obi over donations, he missed his flight billed for 3 pm from Asaba and had to join a 5:30 pm flight from Enugu,” the statement added.
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