Catholic Church rebukes Mbaka, condemns hate speech against Peter Obi

The Catholic Church in Nigeria has condemned what it described as “unbecoming and divisive utterances” by one of its own, Father Ejike Mbaka, founder and Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu.

Mbaka had launched an unprovoked attack on the person of the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, describing him as “a stingy man” and “a joker” who cannot be Nigeria’s President.

Obi had instead of donating cash to Mbaka’s ministry offered to execute any project of the cleric’s choice. But the ‘prophetic’ Catholic minister would have none of that and subsequently launched a tirade against the unperturbed Obi.

“A stingy man, that cannot give people his money, with this hunger ravaging the land, and you are saying he is the one you want. You want to die of hunger? Are you people insane? Where is the Holy Spirit?

“It is now that Atiku is seriously contesting for President; now that he is contesting without Peter Obi; it is now that he is serious.

“We want somebody that is serious. Unless Peter comes here to kneel, if he becomes president, he will close down this ministry. What we are doing is spiritual.

“Listen, a good old man is better than a young wicked man; Peter Obi is going nowhere as far as God lives. If Igbos want a representative, it is not someone like Peter Obi,” the unrestrained Mbaka rambled.

READ: How ‘stingy’ Peter Obi built houses, paid medical bills by saving on designer suit

Mbaka’s verbiage had steered anger among millions of supporters and admirers of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Obi, seen as a breath of fresh air and formidable alternative to the old political order represented by PDP’s Atiku Abubakar and APC’s Bola Tinubu, as Nigeria totters toward the 2023 presidential election.

Reacting to Mbaka’s outburst against Obi, the Auxiliary Bishop of Enugu, Rev Ernest Obodo, in a statement on Thursday, condemned and dissociated the Catholic Church from the comments.

Obodo said Mbaka’s inflammatory political utterances were divisive, adding that they contravene the canon 220 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law which prohibits anyone from illegitimately harming the good name of a person.

The Bishop said Mbaka’s views on the matter were entirely personal to him and do not represent the position of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, which supervises Mbaka’s ministry.

“The Catholic Diocese of Enugu hereby condemns and dissociates herself from such unbecoming and divisive utterances from Fr. Mbaka.

“In an effort to keep him united to the Body of Christ, we enjoin him to refrain from making further provocative prophecies or utterances capable of heating up the polity. We assure the people of God and the general public that the Catholic Diocese of Enugu is taking the due canonical process.

“Finally, we urge all the People of God to continue to pray for peaceful elections and to discharge their civic responsibilities by getting their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) and casting their votes in order to elect the right candidates,” Obodo said.