El-Rufai can never be President of Nigeria- Bishop of Zaria Anglican Diocese

Bishop of the Zaria Anglican Diocese, Abiodun Ogunyemi has lambasted Archbishop of Kaduna Province, Anglican Diocese, Buba Lamido for apologising to Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai over plan to demolish St. George Anglican Church, Sabon Gari, Zaria, by the state government.

Bishop Ogunyemi who described the said apology to Governor El-Rufai as a political gimmick ahead of 2023, however, stated categorically that, El-Rufai can never be President of Nigeria.

Kaduna State chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had in September claimed that the state government issued a seven-day quit notice to the 110-year-old church to enable the government redevelop Sabo Gari Market.

Officials of the Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Agency (KASUPDA) had claimed that the notice came from the Governor’s office.

Meanwhile, a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Communication to the Governor, Muyiwa Adekeye, had quoted the Archbishop Lamido to have apologised to the Governor, for the social media campaigns that tried to turn the issue of the redevelopment of Sabon-Garin Zaria market into a religious matter.

Adekeye quoted the Archbishop as distancing the Anglican Church ‘’from this campaign that has been whipping up baseless allegations of religious bigotry, explaining that the church sees itself and the government as partners.’’

He quoted Lamido further as saying that ‘’the meeting has afforded us a welcome chance to clarify matters and recalibrate our relationship in a mutual commitment to the peace and progress of Kaduna State, and harmony in its diverse communities. We are grateful for the opportunity to remove the cobwebs of misunderstanding in an atmosphere of mutual respect.”

However, apparently disturbed by the development, the Bishop of the Zaria Anglican Diocese, Abiodun Ogunyemi, Zaria Diocese was not surprised about the views and apologies expressed by Archbishop Lamido because he had always compromised truth and Christian standards.

Bishop Ogunyemi in a statement he published on the Diocese’ website read that, “The Bishop and the people of Zaria Diocese are not surprised about the views and apologies expressed by Archbishop Lamido at the Governor’s office yesterday the 12th of November 2019 because Bishop Lamido is known to always compromise Christian standards and the truth.

“Like we wrote few days ago this is the Bishop that sold three very precious landed properties of Wusasa Diocese to some Muslims. These properties were acquired by missionaries in the late 1800s. These great legacies have been lost forever by the Wusasa community.

“Besides at one of the meetings of Northern bishops, Bishop Lamido brought a Muslim governorship candidate with money to bribe the house of Bishops to vote for this man against Governor El Rufai. His antecedents when it comes to standing for the church speak volume.

“The diocese of zaria is not at war with the Governor and we are not religious bigots as stated by Bishop Lamido in the government house. We are only fighting for our right. Nobody can stop us from fighting for our right. Besides, Prophets do not apologize to Kings but Kings apologies to Prophets.

“Nobody can propose to demolish our cathedral and we will keep quiet or apologise.