EJIKE Mbaka, a controversial Catholic Priest from the Diocese of Enugu, has endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari and the incumbent Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for a second term in their respective offices.
Mbaka gave the endorsement during his new year sermon at his ‘Adoration Ministry’ in Enugu.
He described Buhari as “a man who understands the situation”, adding that “a President that is fighting corruption should be supported”.
“We pray for President Muhammadu Buhari; he is a man who understands the situation. Since Nigeria started, we have never experienced a President that has agricultural programmes like him. It’s like calling somebody thief in the media but you are not a thief,” Sahara Reporters quoted Mbaka as saying.
“For 16 years, the road from Anambra to Enugu was overgrown with weeds but within four years, the road is being rebuilt.
“For remembering us, God will bless him. It shall be well with him. Four years doesn’t mean eight years; he has finished his four years and I pray for a peaceful transition that he may complete his remaining four years.”
Mbaka’s endorsement of Buhari is coming just weeks after he accused the President of not doing anything for his Adoration Ministry in spite of all the ordeals he (Mbaka) and his congregation suffered for supporting him in 2019.
Speaking to Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano State who attended his church’s harvest and bazzar ceremony, Mbaka said it was only Buhari’s wife Aisha who occasionally donates items to be distributed to the poor, but the President, for whom the congregation prays and fasts unceasingly, had abandoned them.
Also in his January 1 sermon, Mbaka poured eulogies on Ugwuanyi, the Enugu State governor, for bringing peace and development to the state.
“Enugu has never seen it like this,” Mbaka was quoted as saying. “For the first time in the history of Enugu, the Black Axe and Vikings cult groups are not fighting, only a man like him can do it.
“Enugu is in God’s hands and we have to hand the governor over to God because Enugu is in peace. There is no other state in this country that has this kind of peace. Generations will not forget you. Adoration Ministry will not forget you.
“For such person who is doing well, we will tell him to continue. I pray for God’s protection in his life. If it is endorsement you call it, it is your word.”
Recall that in the run-up to the 2015 general election, Mbaka caused an uproar when he made a u-turn to endorse Buhari after having initially spoken in favour of Goodluck Jonathan.
His prediction eventually came to pass as Buhari won the election. But the Catholic priest has also criticised the President for condoning corrupt individuals in his government, saying that if Buhari cannot sack the corrupt officials in his inner circle, “then all of them should go“.