Former Governor Ayodele Fayose has said the ongoing altercation between the Presidency and the Catholic Priest and Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Fr Ejike Mbaka, is a trivial matter that doesn’t deserve even scant attention of busy and serious-minded Nigerians trying to make ends meet.
Fayose, who said the duo are birds of a feather, described both parties as “blackmailers and scammers”
“The Presidency and Father Mbaka are nothing but blackmailers and scammers. They don’t deserve the attention of Nigerians,” the People’s Democratic Party’s chieftain said on his official Twitter handle.
Mbaka, who was an avowed supporter of Buhari in the buildup to the 2015 general elections, suddenly made a volte-face on his stance on the current administration by calling on the National Assembly to initiate “impeachment” proceedings against Buhari if he refuses to resign in the face of pervasive insecurity in the country.
The cleric said God asked him to withdraw his support for Buhari and to prophesy against him.
Mbaka said the Buhari’s administration had failed to protect lives in the country, describing the situation as devastating.
However, in a clapback, the Presidency attributed the recent outing of Mbaka to Buhari’s refusal to endorse a contract request allegedly made by the cleric.
Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said in a statement yesterday said that though Mbaka supported Buhari in 2015 and 2019, the cleric “has made a complete U-turn, preposterously asking President Buhari to resign or be impeached”.
“Here is the point of departure: Father Mbaka asked for a meeting and to the shock of Presidential Aides, he came accompanied by three contractors. The President graciously allowed them in, and to everyone’s surprise, Father Mbaka asked for contracts as compensation for his support.
“Anyone familiar with President Buhari knows that he doesn’t break the laid down rules in dealing with contracts or any other government business for that matter. He requested the appropriate authorities to deal with the matter in accordance with laid down rules,” Shehu said.
