LAGOS – The Christian Association of Igbo Ministers (CAIM) has reacted to Rev. Father Mbaka of the Adoration Ministry’s recent attack on Labour Party presidential candidate Mr Peter Obi.
In a statement issued over the weekend, the association stated that what Father Mbaka mistook for stinginess was actually prudence in financial management.
In a statement signed by Apostle (Dr.) Solomon C. Okorie, CAIM’s International President, and Rev. Dr. Francis Ujunwa Simeon, International Secretary, the clerics emphasized that Nigeria now needed a leader who could prudently manage the country’s vast human, material, and financial resources for the benefit of the citizenry, rather than a spendthrift.
“Considering his ancestors, Peter Obi is the right man,” the group emphasized. The story of Rev. Father Mbaka’s virulent attack on Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, asserting that he would fail in the 2023 presidential election because he is stingy” has recently dominated social and mainstream media.
According to the clerics, Mbaka vowed to close his Adoration Ministry if Obi won the election, despite urging his thronging parishioners not to vote for the LP candidate.
The CAIM allegation of Peter Obi’s stinginess can be traced back to 2018, when Father Mbaka reportedly asked Obi to publicly announce the amount he would donate to his Adoration Ministry.
According to reports, Obi wanted Father Mbaka to show him a specific project for him to execute, which irritated the cleric, who allegedly warned Obi that unless he paid the money, he and Atiku Abubakar would not win the 2019 presidential election.
“His grudge against Peter Obi persists to this day, despite the hypocritical apology he made to Obi at the behest of his Church superiors,” CAIM stated.
“What Father Mbaka mistook for stinginess is actually prudence in financial management.” Nigeria now requires a leader who can prudently manage the country’s vast human, material, and financial resources for the benefit of the people, not a spendthrift. Given his history, Peter Obi is the right man.
“Father Mbaka’s words and actions violate Christian ministerial ethics.” For starters, a minister harboring malice and bitterness against a Church member for more than four years because of any perceived offense is a direct violation of the doctrine of love.
“Secondly, it smacks of simony for a minister to curse anyone because he or she fails to donate money or reciprocate any ministerial service rendered in cash or in kind.”
“Donations or expressions of gratitude to a Church or its minister must be done willingly and cheerfully, not under duress or manipulation.” God’s power is intended for God’s glory and the blessing of mankind, not for financial gain. God knows how to reward His servants.
“Our Lord Jesus Christ healed ten lepers, but only one returned to express gratitude.” Jesus Christ did not curse the nine who did not return to express their gratitude in word, cash, or kind.
“However, why should Father Mbaka curse Peter Obi?” Where did he get that information? Certainly not from the Lord Jesus Christ!”
While Father Mbaka had the right to vote for any presidential candidate of his choice, the group maintained that he should not hide under the cassocks to settle old scores. “With an imperial tone of finality, Father Mbaka ‘decreed’ that Peter Obi will never be Nigeria’s president because of his’stinginess,” according to CAIM.
“Father Mbaka abuses his prophetic office by whimsically granting himself the authority to decide who rules a country.” That power is solely God’s because He is the only One who “deposes kings and sets up kings…” He is the one “… who rules over the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He pleases” (Dan. 2: 21; 4: 25,32).
“Father Mbaka’s public vilification of Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, in pursuit of a personal vendetta is a great disservice to the Igbo nation.”
“It is most unfortunate that the only Igbo presidential candidate who has received widespread support is being demarketed by a supposedly enlightened priest who understands Ndigbo’s current mood.” Father Mbaka’s cut against Obi, like Brutus’, is the “most unkindest cut of all.”
“We applaud the Catholic Bishop of Enugu for taking stern disciplinary action against the errant priest for jeopardizing the Catholic Church’s ecclesiastical integrity.”
“We condemn Father Mbaka’s utterances and actions, which are not only contrary to Obi’s political interests, but also to the collective aspiration of Ndigbo and Nigerians in general.”
“We equally condemn in the strongest terms all Igbo individuals who are acting as spoilers to our political aspirations for filthy lucre.” “Beware.”
