Wunmi Semudara
The Founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, aka Winners’ Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo has reacted to the controversy trailing his phone conversation with the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, Oyedepo said on Sunday that he never campaigned for any politician or spoken on their behalf in the build-up to the general elections.
while speaking to the congregation at the church’s headquarters, Faith Tabernacle, Ota, Ogun State, said, “I have never campaigned for anybody or spoken on anybody’s behalf and I will not do that till I go to heaven.”
He said “There is no (political) party in this country that didn’t come to me for prayers and advice.”
Recall that Obi was heard in the audio clip which went viral on Saturday asking Oyedepo to help spread his message to Christians in the South-West and parts of North-Central.
“Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in the South-West and Kwara, the Christians in the South-West and Kwara,” Mr Obi was heard saying in the leaked audio clip. “This is a religious war.”
“I believe that, I believe that, I believe that,” Mr Oyedepo responded with Mr Obi saying on the other side of the phone that “If this works, you people will never regret the support.”
However, a media aide to the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Valentine Obienyem, explained the leaked audio of his principal’s conversation with Oyedepo was edited out of context.
He stated that “They edited out the Muslim-Muslim ticket that led to the discussion, where Obi said that in a society like ours, religious balancing was a necessary consideration and that their recklessness had made Christians to assume it was a religious war.”
Meanwhile, a former governor of Enugu state, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, has condemned the Labour Party standard-bearer for allegedly introducing religious and ethnic politics in Nigeria.
He said, “He fed our people with the sacred apple and Nigeria may never be the same again.
“What was in whispers and hush hush tones, Peter proclaimed loud in decibels in cathedrals and holy sepulchers.”
In Another tweet however, sarki, wrote, “Leaked Peter Obi phone conversation has been translated into Hausa. The APC are doing a lot of damage to Peter Obi’s political career in the North. They’re even going as far as sending it to WhatsApp contacts and groups.”
The Democracy Watchman also wrote: “The APC propaganda machine has come out in full force to character assassinate (sic) Peter Obi and cause him to lose in the court of public opinion. But this generation is different.”
The hashtag #YesDaddy had since been trending online after the audio leak.
While some tweeps use the phrase, “Yes, Daddy” to throw jabs at Obi’s supporters, the latter used it to express support for him.
