Rivers State Governor, Rotimi
Amaechi, has alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party bribed some
Christian religious leaders with N6bn to campaign against the All
Progressives Congress and its presidential candidate, Maj. Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Amaechi said that the religious leaders
had been circulating documents to convince Nigerians that the APC and
Buhari would islamise Nigeria if voted into power on February 14.
He told a crowd at the state APC
governorship rally in Emohua that the PDP ought to know that Nigerians
were too enlightened for any political party or an individual to make
the country a Muslim nation.
The governor, who is also the
Director-General of Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation, therefore
advised the religious leaders, whom he accused of commercialising the
Christian faith, to return the bribe money to the Federal Government.
He said, “Some pastors collected N6bn and
they are circulating document and telling you not to vote for an Hausa
man; not to vote for a Muslim; that they want to Islamise Nigeria. Tell
them to return our N6bn.
“They gave them N6bn; they should return
it to the Federal Government coffers. They will tell you that Buhari
wants to Islamise Nigeria; tell them we are too educated.
“I am a Catholic, but no Catholic priest
has told me that story right now in the Catholic Church because, I will
ask him how. If any pastor tells you that, tell him to return the money.
“Nobody can Islamise Nigeria; they have
commercialised Jesus Christ. They should stop commercialising the
Christian faith. You know what Jesus Christ did in the temple? He
chased them away.
“We shall chase away those pastors who
have collected money from the PDP to tell us lies. We shall chase them
away on behalf of Christ.”
The governor described the election in
the state as a referendum between him and President Goodluck Jonathan,
whom he challenged to show Rivers people what he had done for them.
“I told the President that the election
in Rivers State is a referendum between him and myself. I told him
anywhere I go, I will show what I have done. Let him show what he has
done,” Amaechi stressed.
The national leadership of the PDP described the allegation by Amaechi as a “crime against God.”
“It is also a crime to the Church and
Christianity. It is an insult on Christianity. To say
that pastors are paid to support the President is height of
recklessness. Such allegation is despicable and should be condemned.
There was nothing like that from us as a party and there was nothing
like that from our candidate,” its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa
Metuh, added.
Reacting, the state Assistant Publicity
Secretary of the PDP, Samuel Nwanosike, challenged Amaechi, to name
the pastors that collected the N6bn.
Nwanosike argued that the allegation was an indication that the governor had conceded defeat to Jonathan.
He said, “It shows clearly that Governor
Amaechi has conceded defeat and that Dr. Jonathan has what it takes to
continue as the President of this country.”
In his remark at the rally, the APC
governorship candidate in the state, Dakuku Peterside, said that if
voted into power on February 28, he would complete all projects embarked
upon by the Amaechi government.
The candidate also promised to combat insecurity in the communities.
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