General Overseer of Christian Central Chapel International, Bishop Emma Gospel Isong has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to confess his sins to Nigerians and pray for forgiveness if he wants to win his second terms bid in the 2019 presidential election.
Isong stated that the President has committed so many sins against Nigerians but admitted that to seek a second term in office was Buhari’s constitutional right.
The cleric however maintained that there are many hurdles for the President to cross, including the confession of sins to Nigerians.
Bishop Isong, who was spoke with DAILY POST in a telephone interview said, stated that Buhari will be taking Nigerians for a ride if between now and May 2019, he cannot convince citizens that he is risking his life and risking the chances of his party to remain in power.
According to him, “But if Mr President sit back and look at his record and be honest to himself and come out, it is not late to confess, the Bible says whoever confesses his sins shall be forgiven, if Mr President can come back and confess and say 90 per cent of security chiefs are Fulanis.
“If he can come back and say the economy is hitting the bottom rock, people are losing jobs, like in our churches, people are packing out to their villages, they are leaving town, they are resigning, if Mr President can come out and confess that I have not been fair to South-South, I have not been fair to South-East.
“Even in the Middle Belt, in terms of Taraba state, Nassarawa state and of course Benue state, I have not come out with strong government policy to stop Fulani herdsmen from killing innocent Nigerians, if Mr President can come out and confess and repent of course, I will cast my vote for him to be President for second term” he stated.
Bishop Isong said that if President Buhari cannot do this, then he is taking his party as well as its electoral chances for granted, he is making a mockery of democracy and risking his name and integrity which he had built for more than 40 years.
“President Jonathan did not perform this badly after his first term, he lost the election and if he want to go by that record, Buhari government is worse than Jonathan and therefore he cannot be given second term chance if Nigerians’ vote is to be counted,” he stressed.
Speaking further, the cleric stated that declaring intention to re-contest does not automatically amount to winning the elections all things being equal and votes count.
“Constitutionally, the President has the right to declare for second term because of the Nigerian Constitution, he is entitled to two terms, it is his right to re-contest as President of Nigeria.
“He is not in breach of the constitution. The President himself has confessed and his party members from Tinibu to governors of APC have said that in the cardinal areas of Mr President’s first term promises, they have not leave up to expectations.
“They are two things here either Mr President re-contests and failed like former President Jonathan failed when he re-contested because of poor performance. By re-contesting he is asking Nigerians to give him second chance to correct his failures of first term and that will be left in the court of public opinion through the voters’ cards God has given to Nigerians to cast the ballot in 2019.”
Isong continued, “I am not speaking as the National Publicity Secretary of PFN but speaking as Bishop Dr Emma Isong. I always hold one view about Mr President re-contesting, like I said, he has a constitutional right to re-contest but if Mr President’s performance can be enhance this last one year, to improve his record, improve his scored card, Nigerians can easily be convinced, we change our minds easily, they can vote for Mr President for second term.
“If Mr President will not improve on security, embarking on ethnic cleansing, security of Nigeria life and property, on economic which has hit the bottom rock in the past 40 years in Nigeria, if Mr President cannot put food on the table of Nigerians and cannot improve anything in the last one year of his first term, then our votes for him in his second term would be like building a house on the sand and when the winds, rains and flood comes, it blows it off.
“And it will be foolish to give him a second chance, if he cannot use the last one year to convince us he can do it, there is nothing to be sentimental about even if he was my senior brother or my father I will not support that.”