Abdulahhi Sule, the governor of Nasarawa State, remembered that he was counseled to close down Goshen Camp of the Living Faith in Masaka, Nasarawa State, for encouraging Christians to vote for Christian politicians in the most recent general election held in the state. The reason for this advice was that the camp was pushing Christians to vote for people who adhered to the Christian faith.
On Tuesday, the governor made this remark while delivering a lecture at the 2023 Peace and Development Submit for Young University Students in Abuja. The event had just recently come to a close.
Recall that the gospelcable had reported, previous to the general elections in 2023, that Bishop Abioye, who is the Vice President of Living Faith Church Worldwide, had called on Christians to vote for candidates of their faith. This was in response to the fact that Bishop Abioye had called on Christians to vote for politicians of their faith.
“Anyone who tries to convince you at this time that there is no place for religion in politics is trying to mislead you. Vote according to your faith and don’t try to disguise it. I will continue to vote for my beliefs till tomorrow. I refuse to cast my ballot for someone who would kill me. According to Abioye.
During his remarks at the meeting, Governor Sule reiterated his stance that, despite the suggestion of others, he would not issue an arrest warrant for the Bishop.
He stated, “Indeed, for those of you who remember, we have the majority of the major religious organizations in Nasarawa State, like the Goshen City at Kilometer 36, which is presided over by the respected Bishop David Abioye. Bishop David Abioye once released a video just before the elections asking: why can’t a Christian be a governor in Nasarawa State?”
“He subsequently exhorted Christians to vote only for other Christians running for office.
“A few individuals came to see me and gave me advice, which was to let us check whether or not that church has paid its taxes, and if they haven’t, then we should close the church.
“They said let us send security to arrest him (Bishop Abioye) for making those kinds of statements, but I said no. I don’t want him arrested,” she claimed.
The Governorship Election Tribunal Petition, (OEPT), presided over by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi and delivering a judgement on Monday, 2nd October 2023, declared David Ombugadu of the PDP the rightful winner of the elections held on March 18, nullifying Sule’s victory at the polls. Ombugadu was elected Governor of the State of Ondo.