The Christian Association of Nigeria has warned politicians and their supporters against invoking the name of Jesus Christ in partisan political battles ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The CAN President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, gave the warning in a statement on Wednesday/
Recent comments by Precious Oruche, popularly known as Mama Pee, in which she invoked Jesus Christ while making a political point about the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, ahead of the 2027 election had generated controversies.
Reacting, Okoh said while political discourse could be passionate, Christians must exercise restraint in the manner in which they invoke the name of Jesus Christ during political debates.
“I believe this is an appropriate moment to remind all of us, especially Christians, to exercise restraint in the way we invoke the name of Jesus Christ in political debates,” he said.
The cleric stressed that Jesus Christ was “not a political candidate, a campaign slogan or a weapon to advance one politician against another.”
The CAN president described the name of Jesus as sacred, adding that it should not be dragged into partisan contests in ways that elevated politicians to a position reserved for God.
According to him, Nigerians were free to support or criticise political figures, including Obi, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and President Bola Tinubu, but political loyalty should not diminish the reverence due to Christ.
“We are free to support Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu or any other candidate. We are equally free to criticise them.
“But our political loyalty must never become so intense that we begin to speak of politicians in terms that diminish the reverence due to Christ,” he said.
Okoh urged Nigerians to focus political arguments on issues such as competence, character, policies, performance and the future of the country.
“Let us argue about competence, character, policies, performance and the future of Nigeria. Let us disagree passionately if necessary, but let us leave Jesus Christ out of our partisan quarrels,” he said.
He added that no politician should be regarded as the Messiah and warned against attaching spiritual significance to electoral contests.
“No politician is the Messiah. No political party represents the salvation of the human spirit that Christ epitomises. And no electoral victory is worth compromising the honour due to His name,” Okoh stated.
The CAN president urged politicians, their supporters and other Nigerians to conduct political conversations responsibly and respectfully as the country approaches the 2027 elections.
“As we approach another crucial electoral season, I urge politicians, their supporters and all Nigerians to conduct our political conversations with responsibility, restraint and respect for what we hold sacred,” he said.
Recall that Oruche had, in a comment which went viral online, said Obi would likely defeat Jesus if the latter contested an election in Nigeria, owing to the former’s popularity.
The comment was a response to social media commentator Emmanuel “Geh Geh” Obruste’s argument that Obi could not defeat President Bola Tinubu in a free and fair election.
Oruche argued that Obi was popular enough to defeat any politician and, in the process, made the controversial comparison with Jesus.
She subsequently denied blaspheming against Jesus, saying the viral video had been edited and taken out of context.