Controversial Catholic priest, Ejike Mbaka, has again attacked Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).
Mr Mbaka renewed hostility in a recent audio clip published by BBC Igbo on Wednesday, saying the former Anambra State governor will not succeed in his ambition to become president of the country.
The cleric described Mr Obi as a stingy man who has refused to repay him and his Adoration Ministry for their intervention in returning him back as governor when he was booted out from office.
In 2019, Atiku Abubakar, former vice president, had picked the former governor as his running mate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and lost to President Muhammadu Buhari who was seeking re-election at the time.
Mr Obi, who visited the Enugu-based Christian gathering before the 2019 presidential election, was asked to make his donation, a request he declined to make public, promising to do so secretly but the cleric insisted and all attempts to force him to do so publicly failed.
The priest thereafter declared that the duo will fail to oust the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) because of the stinginess of the former governor who watched as a donation was being made on behalf of Mr Buhari by Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma.
Messrs Mbaka and Buhari fell out shortly after the president won his re-election and accused the cleric of attacking him because he refused to award him contracts.
Renewing attacks on Obi whom he claimed was carrying a curse, Mr Mbaka who later apologised for his previous outburst on the advise of the Catholic Bishop of Enugu, said he was forced to do so.
He predicted that the former governor will close down his ministry should he succeeds in his political ambition.
“A stingy man, that cannot give people his money, with this hunger ravaging the land, and you are saying he is the one you want. Do you want to die of hunger?” he queried. “Are you people insane? Where is the Holy Spirit?
“It is now that Atiku is seriously contesting for President; now that he is contesting without Peter Obi; it is now that he is serious? We want somebody that is serious. Unless Peter comes here to kneel, if he becomes President, he will close down this ministry. What we are doing is spiritual.
“I should not have talked but I saw my video going around everywhere as if Fr. Mbaka wholeheartedly came out and apologized. No, I didn’t apologize wholeheartedly, it was out of duress. I had to obey my Bishop, in obedience I had to, it is not of my volition. I did it because I am a Catholic Priest, my Bishop said, do it, my own is ‘Yes my Lord’.
“I did not say he is a bad man; I said he is a stingy man. A hungry man wants someone that is generous; the man has so much money, but he is ‘I, me, myself’. But that money will not be useful to him. I am very happy now that I have spoken out. That apology is a poisonous curse against Peter Obi.
“If he is wise, he should have come here after that apology to say he is sorry but he waited. Anybody supporting him is wasting his money, he is going nowhere.
“He is my friend. When he was chased out of Government House, he knew the role I played to bring him back, but how did he pay me back? Night meetings we attended to bring him back, ask him, ask Eselu Uga, ask Archbishop Anikwenwa, they know where and how we did it and he was brought back.
“Ask Peter since then what he used to reward Adoration. If you like Peter Obi, tell him to come and ask for forgiveness. Let him come and redo what he did. There is an altar of God he blasphemed; he defiled an altar of God, the Holy Spirit.
“I called Atiku after that apology, he was in Dubai, I told him that there is a revelation on your presidential election; that you are going to be the President of Nigeria on one condition, that Peter Obi is not going to be your running mate. Peter Obi has incurred a curse to himself, which means that he is carrying a curse; if you want to be President, change him.
“Atiku responded that I cannot, Peter must be my running mate, we must win. You saw what happened. Atiku is still alive. That is why I said it is now that Atiku is preparing to be President.
“Just like Jonathan, I called him, God has shown that you are going to win this election but on one condition; Jega should be changed. If you change Jega you will win Buhari, but if you don’t, Buhari will win you. Goodluck told me, ‘Fr. I will not remove Jega, we will still win’. He held on to Jega and failed.”
The LP presidential candidate is currently in Egypt where he went to understudy the electricity sector of the foreign country he has away lauded and was not reachable for comments as at press time.
