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
The state chairman of the party, Dr Babandi Gumel, disclosed this in a statement signed and made available to journalists on Saturday.
According to the statement, the Jigawa PDP received news of Alhaji Lamido’s suspension with “profound shock and disappointment”.
The statement added that the suspension, which was reportedly based on allegations that Alhaji Lamido attended meetings capable of undermining party unity, amounts to an affront to justice, internal democracy and the reconciliation efforts recently championed by the PDP leadership.
The party stressed that the exercise of legal and constitutional rights within the party should not be interpreted as an act of disunity. It recalled that Alhaji Lamido approached the court after he was allegedly denied the opportunity to purchase a nomination form to contest the position of National Chairman of the PDP.
The statement further noted that the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, ruled in Alhaji Lamido’s favour by restraining the PDP from proceeding with its national convention until his right to contest was determined.
The Jigawa PDP argued that the suspension appeared to be a punitive action against Alhaji Lamido for seeking judicial redress over an issue on which the court had already found merit.
The party also faulted the decision of the BoT for contradicting recent public statements by its chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, who had emphasised reconciliation within the party, admitted past mistakes and appealed to aggrieved members to return fully to the PDP fold.
However, it maintained that suspending a founding member who sought justice through legal means runs contrary to the spirit of reconciliation and healing publicly advocated by the party leadership.
The chairman said the suspension was premature and prejudicial, as the matter remains before the courts. He also described Alhaji Lamido as one of the few founding fathers of the PDP who has remained loyal to the party without defecting, warning that punishing such loyalty sends a negative signal to other committed members.
The party further argued that the action undermines party unity at a time when the PDP requires cohesion to effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). It also insisted that there is no provision in the PDP constitution that allows for the suspension of a “life member”.
The party called on the BoT to immediately and unconditionally withdraw the suspension of Alhaji Lamido.
It also demanded that the BoT publicly affirm the right of all party members to aspire to leadership positions in line with the party’s constitution and the laws of the country, without fear of victimisation.
It further urged the BoT to retrace its steps, align its actions with its reconciliation agenda, and tender an apology to Alhaji Lamido.
The Jigawa PDP reaffirmed its commitment to a united, democratic and law-abiding Party.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, CISLAC warned that if proven, such actions would amount to a serious breach of constitutional order, legislative integrity, and public trust.
The organisation noted that Nigeria’s law-making process is clearly defined by the Constitution, stressing that any alteration of a bill after parliamentary passage undermines democratic governance and the principle of separation of powers.
CISLAC further emphasised that taxation has direct implications for citizens, businesses, sub-national governments, and the overall economy. It stated that uncertainty or a lack of transparency in tax legislation could erode investor confidence and raise concerns about accountability and the possible abuse of executive power.
The organisation described the situation as particularly troubling given the rare inclusive, and thorough public consultation that shaped the law’s final provisions prior to its passage.
“This process brought together taxpayers, civil society groups, professional organisations, the private sector, labour unions, local governments, and technical experts, ensuring that diverse viewpoints were considered and carefully balanced.
“Any unilateral changes to these agreed-upon provisions, made outside the established legislative process and without renewed public engagement, not only breach public trust but also violate the fundamental tax principle of representation, which holds that citizens must have a meaningful voice in shaping the laws that govern how they are taxed. Such actions undermine democratic accountability, weaken the legitimacy of the tax system, and risk eroding public confidence”, it noted.
CISLAC expressed particular concern that uncertainty surrounding the authenticity of the tax law, coming at a time when a new tax regime is expected to take effect, could exacerbate the economic hardship already faced by many Nigerians.
It observed that citizens are contending with rising living costs, inflationary pressures, declining purchasing power, and reduced access to basic services, warning that implementing a disputed tax framework under such conditions, risks deepening inequality, discouraging compliance, and fuelling public resentment.
The organisation stressed that tax reforms must be anchored in clarity, legality, fairness, and social sensitivity, cautioning that any tax system introduced without full transparency, adequate public communication, and legislative certainty undermines voluntary compliance and weakens the social contract between the state and its citizens.
As part of its recommendations, CISLAC called on the Presidency to urgently publish the exact version of the tax law assented to, alongside the authenticated copy passed by the National Assembly, to allow for public and institutional verification.
It also urged the leadership of the National Assembly to promptly exercise its oversight powers to determine whether the assented law reflects the will of the legislature, including a review of the enrolled bill process.
The organisation maintained that any discrepancy discovered should be treated as unconstitutional and addressed through lawful means, such as the re-transmission of the correct bill or judicial interpretation where necessary. It further called for an independent review of the process by relevant institutions, including the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and, where required, the judiciary, to establish the facts and assign responsibility.
CISLAC noted that the controversy highlights the urgent need to strengthen safeguards at the legislative and executive interface. It recommended measures such as digital tracking of bills, public access to enrolled legislation, and more transparent assent procedures.
CISLAC emphasised that the issue is not about partisan politics but about safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s democratic institutions. It warned that allowing any arm of government to unilaterally alter laws passed by another sets a dangerous precedent and weakens constitutional democracy.
The organisation urged all parties involved to act with restraint, openness, and fidelity to the Constitution, noting that Nigerians deserve laws that reflect due process, the public interest, and the collective decisions of their elected representatives.
CISLAC added that it will continue to monitor developments and engage relevant stakeholders to promote accountability, transparency, and the rule of law in Nigeria’s governance processes.
