The Peter Obi media office has lambasted Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for saying the Labour Party (LP) candidate campaigns in churches.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice presidential candidate had accused Obi of fanning the flames of religion.
“Peter Obi factor is as if he is trying to go through the church and make it look as if he is driving the Christians into politics.
“I do not believe that the church should actively go into politics because that is not their calling”, he told reporters.
In reply, Obi’s team said Okowa ignored the magnitude of the nation’s challenges and why Nigerians are rising in support of the ex-Anambra governor.
A statement on Thursday condemned the attempts to label Obi as an individual who places one religion against another.
The media office noted that Obi has been tagged a mere social media blitz without structure, and labelled an Igbo an associate of the indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
The rejoinder described Obi as a driver of a movement whose membership and support cut across all facets of national life.
It declared that attempts to pigeonhole him into any sector will fail, recalling Obi visited churches even before he joined the race for presidency.
“In July 2021, he was at St Mary’s Catholic Church, Karu, Abuja, to attend the 25th anniversary of a priest and the church erupted when he was introduced.
“At various weddings in Abuja, Lagos, and all over the country, Nigerians celebrated him for what he stood for and what he did when he held public office in Anambra State.
“One of such functions was Dr Okowa’s child’s wedding at the National Ecumenical Conference Centre in Abuja, this year.”
The statement added that in most of the top public church appearances of Obi, including a recent Dunamis Church outing in Abuja, the Delta governor was invited.
The office said it doesn’t expect Okowa to join the talks of attack dogs, but to use every available avenue he has to market himself and PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Okowa was informed that even he knows the LP candidate is leading a movement that cannot be stopped because it was “prompted by long-standing oppression” of Nigerians.
“Taking back the country and rebuilding it is a task, there is no going back. The oppressors have forced the oppressed to pull the trigger and there is going back”, the statement added.
