Atiku vs Buhari: David Oyedepo Clashes With Adeboye, Kumuyi Over 2019 Presidential Election

By tacitly endorsing Atiku Abubakar for president, founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo may have set himself in the crosshairs of the Presidency.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign spokesperson Festus Keyamo is already referring to the revered bishop as “man of God, so called” with a warning that anyone who backs Atiku for the Presidency would be cursed.

But the real battle against Oyedepo could originate from his own brethren in the Christian community; as the Bible says, “a man’s enemies are members of his own household”.

Oyedepo was with Atiku in Abeokuta on Thursday when former president Olusegun Obasanjo backed his two-time vice president to succeed Muhammadu Buhari come 2019.

The development came two weeks after Deeper Life Bible Church superintendent William F. Kumuyi visited Buhari in Aso Rock and told him “we are praying for you to succeed”.

During that visit, President Buhari virtually called Kumuyi an intellectual genius and thanked him for accepting the government’s invitation to preach the sermon during Nigeria’s 58th independence anniversary. From what we know of Buhari’s government, they do not invite critics to sermonise Aso Rock.

Yes, Buhari is not the first Nigerian leader Kumuyi would visit in the seat of power. But observers see the timing of the visit, coming as Nigeria braces for 2019 general elections, as an endorsement of Buhari’s second coming.

Another leading clergyman whom many believe already supports Buhari’s re-election is Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) general overseer Pastor Enoch E. Adeboye.

Buhari’s deputy Yemi Osinbajo is a top RCCG pastor. With the Presidency already saying Buhari-Osinbajo rerun is the way to go in 2019, it would be strange for Adeboye to endorse any of Buhari’s challengers.

From what we have seen so far, Kumuyi and Adeboye will stand with Buhari while Oyedepo pitches his tent with Atiku.

Also standing with Atiku is Catholic bishop of Sokoto diocese Mathew Kukah who by so doing may have set himself up against several Catholic bishops who have visited and “endorsed” Buhari this year.

The political involvement of these Christian leaders should affect the way their followers vote next year. If it cannot, why would politicians court the pulpit?