Politics
Of Mbaka’s Discordant Tunes And His Critics
This is a season of pre
dictions, not just for what becomes of the New Year in the long run, but what lies in the belly of the forthcoming general elections in the country. Thus, when the popular Enugu catholic priest and founder of the Adoration Ministry, Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka chose to be partisan in his liberation theology, Nigerians began to question the authenticity of his messages to his numerous admirers.
Rev Mbaka’s messages concerning President Goodluck Jonathan at two different fora form the basis of judgement on the style, colour and what the priest stands for in politics of the time.
In November 2014, Rev Mbaka played host to First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, and others at his Enugu parish where he told the First Lady that her husband had “done well” and deserved another tenure at the Aso Rock, in spite of the distractions apparently referring to the issues of terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria.
The priest did not stop there. He defended President Jonathan for not saving the Chibok school girls, adding that “campaigners on the Chibok girls’ abduction have no reason asking the President to return the girls’ home since Mr. Jonathan was not keeping them.”
Fr. Mbaka who said he heard his message from “above” offered special players for President Jonathan to win the re-election and excel in leadership. Dame Patience was special guest of honour at the 2014 annual thanksgiving and bazaar of Fr. Mbaka’s parish church. She took a bible reading from Genesis, chapter 12:2-3.
However, about a month after the visit of the First Lady, the catholic priest made a dramatic u-turn on Goodluck Jonathan and started singing discordant tunes about the President’s re-election bid. In his new year message, delivered on the eve of 2015, Rev Mbaka lambasted and warned President Jonathan to forget about his 2015 re-election bid and allow his main opponent, Muhammadu Buhari to be the next President
Apart from calling on President Jonathan to “quietly resign” for failing to tackle the insecurity and corruption in the land, the catholic priest also said that Nigeria would be doomed if President Jonathan is re-elected. He recalled the November meeting with the First Lady, and said the “spiritual drama” he performed that day using pigeons, showed that the President would lose the forthcoming elections.
According to him, four pigeons were freed from the cage to fly up but the one that represented Mr. Jonathan refused to move even though it was the healthiest.
The first question that emerges from Rev Mbaka’s spiritual drama is that the other three pigeons that flew away represented who and who? Again, why did he not disclose the outcome of the “spiritual drama” at the November session with Dame Patience? Could Fr. Mbaka have compromised his spirituality with the fallout of the visit of the First Lady at his church’s bazaar?
Or could it be that the catholic priest uses different spiritual colours to attend spiritual/political sessions and that, by and large, determine the colouration of his spiritual interpretations on political issues?
However, an Anglican Archbishop believed that Fr. Mbaka was settled for him to change gear on the first family. The Archbishop of Enugu Anglican Province and Bishop of Enugu, Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, said, “Fr. Mbaka should declare to the world how much he collected from the opponent for him to say all he said against Dr. Jonathan.”
Reacting to Fr. Mbaka’s new year message at his adoration ground, Archbishop Chukwuma recalled First Lady’s visit to Mbaka’s adoration ground in November 2014 where he alleged she (Dame Patience) doled out N5 million and the catholic priest eulogized the President, urging him to continue in his good works without fear or favour only to turn back suddenly to make negative statements about him.
The Anglican archbishop, however, called on Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria to check Fr. Mbaka with a view to curbing his excesses.
The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) also expressed concern over the excesses of its priest. The Secretary-General of CSN, Rev. Fr. Ralph Madu, distanced the Catholic Church from Fr. Mbaka’s comments on President Jonathan and the forthcoming general elections, saying they were his personal opinion.
He said some charismatic leaders who claim that they are getting their inspiration from the holy spirit or from God, should not open their mouth wide but pass their message in a manner that is acceptable, considering the explosive nature of the country and other factors.
But the All Progressives Congress (APC) praised Fr. Mbaka’s criticisms of President Jonathan administration for what the party called “his uncommon concern for the down-trodden and for being the advocate of the masses and the voice of the voiceless”.
APC which reacted through its South East spokesperson, Osita Okechukwu, described Fr. Mbaka as a liberation theologian, noting that President Jonathan “is a shoeless man that abandoned the shoeless when he ascended to power. Fr. Mbaka is 100 percent correct.”
He slammed the President for “monumental corruption” of his administration and also accused him of having squandered unprecedented crude oil and gas revenue resulting in Nigeria sliding back into the dangerous loop of foreign debt trap.
On Monday, January 6, 2015, pro-Buhari supporters engaged their pro-Jonathan counterparts in a war of words at the old market road in the commercial city of Onitsha where the former insisted that there was nothing wrong in what Fr. Mbaka said. According to the pro-Buhari group, Rev. Mbaka only gave the message of God to save the ailing country from the hands of President Jonathan.
However, leader of pro-Jonathan group and chairman of Newspaper Distributors Association, Onitsha, Jude Isiguzo, lambasted Fr. Mbaka for attacking President Jonathan, describing his action as against the principle of evangelisation. He said there is no alternative to President Jonathan and that his re-election is God’s making not man’s.
Further dissecting Dr. Mbaka’s fierce attack on Jonathan titled “From Goodluck to Bad Luck,” Onyiorah Paschal Chiduluemije, said there is nothing wrong for Fr. Mbaka hosting the First Lady and using pigeons which supposedly signify peace.He, however, believes there is certainly something wrong with the catholic priest to say that the one pigeon, out of the four pigeons, that refused to fly up represented President Jonathan.
Contrary to the claim that Fr. Mbaka was not partisan, Paschal argues that the catholic priest is actually partisan for him to have singled out one of the pigeons as representing Nigeria’s No. 1 citizen.
The second Niger bridge which Jonathan promised Ndigbos during his first term is taking donkey years to be accomplished. Perhaps, this provides the prism from which some aspects of Fr. Mbaka’s outburst could be well situated. But issues pertaining to development are hardly discussed in isolation.
While Jonathan administration cannot be spared for delaying the construction of the second Niger bridge, praises ought to be showered on him for his developmental legacies in Igboland by way of appointments into key government positions and the building of an international airport of world-class standard in Enugu, after decades of misrule and marginalisation of the Igbos in national project.
Unarguably, insecurity has challenged Jonathan administration more than past administrations but that is not to say that his government has not been responsible enough in tackling insurgency within the ambit of the laws as well as the limit of rules of engagement available to the Nigerian military and other security agencies operating n the evil axis of the North.
Samuel Eleonu
In a statement issued on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Obiora Ifoh, the party said it had taken note of Mr Obi’s defection alongside some of his supporters, as well as what it called a “lacklustre speech” delivered by the former Anambra State governor at the defection event.
“We wondered what new he intends to sell to Nigerians,” the party said, adding that it was not surprised by the move, having “since September 2024, parted ways with Peter Obi and some of his blind supporters in the National Assembly.”
According to the statement, the faction said it had patiently awaited Mr Obi’s exit, describing it as a blessing.
“The party is finally liberated by this defection and as party leaders, we count it as a blessing,” the party said.
The faction further disclosed that it had previously urged Mr Obi and his supporters to leave if they were unable to work with the party leadership.
It claimed that several lawmakers had been suspended for anti-party activities and that similar action would have been taken against Mr Obi but for the intervention of “some well-meaning Nigerians.”
It also blamed its internal crisis on Mr Obi and Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, accusing them of sponsoring what it described as an insurrection against the Julius Abure-led leadership.
“The crisis we had in the Labour Party was caused by Peter Obi and the Abia State governor, Alex Otti,” the statement alleged, adding that it was surprising Dr Otti had not followed Mr Obi out of the party despite his suspension.
Reacting to Mr Obi’s defection event in Enugu, the faction claimed the gathering was largely boycotted by prominent political and traditional institutions in the South East, insisting that those present were “political spent forces who cannot win in their wards should there be an election today.”
It warned that this development signalled the failure of any future Mr Obi presidential or vice-presidential ambition, claiming he had “clearly lost the charm that had endeared him to the people prior to 2023.”
The faction also accused Mr Obi of misleading the South East during the 2023 elections, alleging that the region suffers political marginalisation under President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a result.
“He must be told that the South East lost out completely in President Ahmed Tinubu’s government because they trusted and believed in him in 2023,” the statement said, alleging disparities in ministerial appointments and infrastructure allocation to the zone.
The Abure-Led LP apologised to Nigerians for its decision in the last election.
“We gave Nigerians a candidate we thought was good for the nation in 2023, but time has since proved that we made the greatest political mistake. We plead for forgiveness from Nigerians,” the party said.
It urged Nigerians to watch out for a rebranded Labour Party, promising to present “the best prospect” capable of returning Nigeria to what it described as its “glorious days.”
steadily toward unity, justice, and shared prosperity”, he said.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday at his country home in Ikere-Ekiti, Dr Oluyede said the development came as a shock, stressing that INEC supervised and monitored the PDP governorship primary that produced him as the party’s candidate.
According to him, INEC officials documented the process, completed all required forms, and even affirmed his candidacy in court through sworn affidavits arising from cases linked to the primary election.
He maintained that no court order or injunction currently restrains INEC from listing his name as the PDP candidate, arguing that the electoral body lacks the constitutional power to determine who emerges as a party’s nominee.
Dr Oluyede described such decisions as the exclusive responsibility of political parties, not the electoral umpire.
While playing down panic over the released list, Dr Oluyede noted that electoral processes often involve reviews and corrections.
He disclosed that he had commenced wide consultations, including engagements with PDP leadership and formal correspondence with INEC, to seek clarification on the omission and determine the next line of action.
The PDP candidate assured his supporters across Ekiti State that he would appear on the ballot, expressing confidence that the situation would be resolved in his favour.
He described attempts to exclude candidates from elections as dangerous and undemocratic, warning that such tactics undermine the people’s right to freely choose their leaders.
Dr Oluyede called on the people of Ekiti to reject any form of disenfranchisement, insisting that elections should be contests of ideas, records, and acceptance by the electorate rather than exclusionary maneuvers.
He also declared that the PDP in Ekiti had resolved its past internal crises and was now united, focused, and ready to win the forthcoming governorship election.
He urged party members and supporters to remain calm and focused, expressing optimism that, with divine grace and the will of the people, the PDP would emerge victorious at the polls.
Mr Obi spoke while formally declaring for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) at a well-attended event in Enugu on Wednesday, where he outlined what he described as a fresh roadmap for rescuing the country from its socio-economic challenges.
Addressing party members, supporters and other stakeholders, the former governor stressed that leadership must be driven by integrity and accountability, warning against the culture of double standards in public office.
“We cannot continue to deceive our people. Leadership is about telling the truth and leading by example. You cannot promise one thing in public and do another in private. That is not leadership, and that is not the change Nigeria needs”, Mr Obi said.
He maintained that genuine national rebirth would only be possible if entrenched wrongs were corrected, adding that governance must be guided by competence, discipline and a clear sense of purpose.
Mr Obi also underscored the need for fresh thinking in the nation’s political space, urging political actors to move away from recycled ideas that have failed to deliver sustainable development.
“We must come with new ideas,” he said, adding that “Nigeria’s problems are not mysterious; what has been lacking is the courage and competence to address them differently. We need a new approach that puts people first and focuses on production, not consumption.”
Calling for a broad based political collaboration, Mr Obi appealed to parties and stakeholders across ideological divides to work together in the national interest.
“This country is bigger than any party or individual. All parties must come together to change the present trend. What matters is not the platform, but the future of Nigeria and the wellbeing of its citizens”, he declared.
Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, Mr Obi challenged aspirants seeking elective offices to ensure transparency in their credentials, warning that the era of falsified certificates was drawing to a close.
“Anyone contesting for any position in 2027 must come with genuine certificates. All the machinery is now in place to verify what is genuine and what is not. Integrity must start from the very foundation of leadership”, he stated.
Drawing lessons from international development models, Mr Obi cited Rwanda and Indonesia as examples of countries that rose from difficult beginnings to become thriving economies through disciplined leadership and sound policies.
“These countries were once behind us,” he noted, adding that “Today, they are moving ahead because they chose competent leadership, clear vision and policies that support local production and human capital development.”
He also criticised the economic policies of the present administration, particularly the continued importation of food items that can be produced locally, describing such practices as inimical to national development.
“You cannot grow an economy by killing local production. Importing food that we can produce in Nigeria destroys jobs, weakens our farmers and drains our foreign exchange. A serious country must produce what it consumes”, he argued.
The event featured renewed calls from ADC supporters for sustained engagement and mobilisation, as Mr Obi reiterated his belief that Nigeria remains redeemable if led with honesty, competence and a commitment to shared national progress.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, expressed confidence in the emerging coalition, assuring Nigerians that the party would deliver good governance at all levels of administration if entrusted with power.
The gathering also witnessed the defection of several prominent politicians from different political parties across the South-East and beyond.
The motion endorsing the defection was moved by a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, and seconded by former economic adviser to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Osita Ogbu.
Goodwill messages from notable political figures, including Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Mrs. Aisha Yesufu, Chief Sam Egwu, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Chief Achike Udenwa, Mr Onyema Ugochukwu and Senator Gilbert Nnaji among others, further underscored the growing momentum within the ADC.
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