The President-General of the Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Leonard Kawas, has defended his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Saturday, Kawas said his involvement in Nigerian politics predates the current administration, saying he has spent 25 years in the clergy and supported political leaders in the past.
According to him, the Nigerian leaders he had backed over the years include Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, without being labelled a fake bishop.
New Telegraph reports that Kawas’ defence comes amid criticism of the group’s endorsement of Tinubu, with some Nigerians questioning his credentials as a bishop.
Kawas said he supported Obi during the early stages of his presidential ambition, travelled with him across the country and mobilised other clergymen for his campaign without receiving any financial reward from the former Anambra State governor.
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“I travelled around this country with Doyin Okupe. I travelled around this country at 2 am with John Dara and others. We were campaigning from church to church, and nobody called me a fake bishop.
“I campaigned for my leader, reverend Jolly Nyame, and he became governor of my State, Taraba State. He appointed me Chairman of the Christian Welfare Board, and nobody called me fake then.
“I supported Peter Obi at the initial stage of his presidential ambition. I went with him everywhere in Nigeria. And he never gave me one dollar, one naira.
“Neither did he even ever ask me one day how I came to the campaign. He would just see me at the campaign, and we would pray for him. I paid for the transportation of six clergymen. And nobody called me fake. We were on television everywhere.
“I was one of the people who prophesied that we would see him in Abuja. And he came to Abuja, and he became vice-president and then president from the doctrine of necessity,” Kawas said.
“And then he won the election. I was on his presidential campaign council. I was the only bishop in Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential campaign council, and I took the campaign everywhere. Nobody called me fake.
“Is it now, because I have prayed and God has led me to support Bola Tinubu, that I suddenly become fake? he asked.
