The National Secretary of the Labour Party, Umar Farouk has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) is behind the letter which alleged that N2 billion was given to churches in Nigeria to mobilise votes for Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that while saying the allegation was unfortunate, Farouk stated that since the opposition failed its attempt to de-market it following its own Muslim-Muslim ticket, it has turned attention to the churches.
Reports emerged on Sunday that a N2 billion mobilisation fund was tearing the Christian body apart, alleging that Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, provided the money.
But CAN President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, in a statement in Abuja, said the so-called petition, reportedly signed by one Pastor Frank Onwumere and addressed to his office, is illogical and can best be described as a failed attempt to drag the Christian body into 2023 politicking.
Okoh, who promised that CAN would “investigate the source of the letter in the interest of the public,” urged Nigerians to disregard the petition, as its contents are not only untrue, but also malicious.
“Of course, it is a lie and CAN itself has disputed it. It has written to debunk it. Even you people in the media know this is not true,” Punch quotes Farouk as saying.
“The Labour Party has denied this completely. There is no iota of truth in that report. Instead of Peter Obi giving out money, it is even the people contributing to support his campaign. It is the figment of imagination of the writer.
“We are suspecting the opposition as the brain behind this fake news, which is very unfortunate. They have been trying to bring us down after they have done their ‘Muslim-Muslim ticket’, they are now turning attention to the churches.
“Who asked them to do Muslim-Muslim ticket? Look, I am a Muslim, I go to a mosque and talk to my people to vote for Peter Obi. All they can do in their own case is to seek ways to blackmail the church. They are doing themselves more harm than good.
“Our supporters have already made up their minds that they want to vote for Obi. We are just about 13 days away from the election. So we are good to go. They already have the record of sponsoring fake pastors to events.”
