The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has denied endorsing the Labour Party or its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
On Friday, the PFN National Publicity Secretary, Bishop Emmah Isong, called the rumours “false news” on social media at the 17th Biennial Conference.
“I want you to know that nothing like that has happened in the history of the PFN.
“We have not endorsed any political party or any presidential candidate, rather what we have is the 17th Biennial Conference of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria titled, ‘More Than Conquerors,’ currently ongoing in Bayelsa state,” he said.
He stated that the conference provides an opportunity for all Christians, particularly those in positions of power, to come in and fellowship with the organization, and that no candidate has been supported at the conference.
Isong labeled it “false news” and urged well-meaning Nigerians to disregard it since it was intended to tarnish PFN’s reputation.
“We coincidentally had the vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, former governor Mr. Peter Obi, same day, come into fellowship with us.
“And at no point did the National President his Eminence Bishop Dr. Wale Oke, nor fathers of faith of NEC endorse any presidential candidate or political party. That has not happened. I believe whatever you have read regarding that issue is junk and fake news.”
The body called on Christians in the country to examine the profiles of candidates and vote according to their conscience, adding that it cannot force any Christian to vote for a particular candidate.
He urged supporters of political parties to stop the use of social media to canvass votes for their candidates, adding “political campaign is beyond social media.”
He further said that PFN was not partisan and that its members belong to different political parties.
“Therefore, we will not make the mistake of endorsement at this point.
“We have not yet and never will endorse any political candidate for the 2023 elections. We asked our members to pray, wait for the Lord, and vote according to their conscience,” he said.