Oyedepo Denies Promising Obi South West, Christians’ Votes

David Oyedepo, Presiding Bishop of Faith Tabernacle also known as Winners Chapel has denied campaigning for the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in the February 18 election.

An online medium had published a leaked audio where the popular Bishop reportedly had a telephone conversation with the politician on how to get his church support for him to win the election.
The LP candidate was also said to have appealed to the Bishop to assist him to appeal to voters in the south west region.

“Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in the South-West and Kwara, the Christians in the South-West and Kwara. This is a religious war. Like I keep saying: if this works, you people will never regret the support,” Obi reportedly said in the audio.

Obi, a former governor of Anambra State eventually lost the election to the All Progressives Congress, APC candidate in the election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu after coming a distant third with over six million votes to his credit.

The LP candidate is now in court to challenge the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, that Tinubu won the keenly contested election.

Reacting to the report during a Sunday service at the headquarters of the church in Ota Ogun State, Oyedepo said he never had any conversation with Obi.

He said Obi, like other politicians came to him for prayers which he gladly obliged, adding that a religious leader all he had to do is to advise anyone who came to him for advice.

Oyedepo said “Nobody had ever told me what to say in this world. No. I have never campaigned for anybody or speak on anybody’s behalf and I will not do that till I go to heaven.

“There is no (political) party in this country that didn’t come to me for prayers and advice. I advised them, some, they didn’t take. Those who chose to take it, they see results; those who said no, they are going about it (laughs). If you still come again, I will still tell you, it doesn’t change.”

Obi received massive supoort from Christian leaders across the country during the election after the ruling APC chose a Muslim/ Muslim ticket, condemned by now a few as a plot to Islamise the country.
His loss has also been blamed on his failure to win the supoort of the predominantly Muslim north.