I've never campaigned for anybody - Oyedepo says amid leaked audio saga

The founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide otherwise known as Winners' Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has said he had never campaigned for any political party nor spoken on their behalf to anybody during the electioneering period in Nigeria.

The respected Bishop made this known while speaking on a subject of faith during his sermon at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, on Sunday, April 2, 2023.

Oyedepo also disclosed that all political parties sought his prayers and advice before the just-concluded general elections and he availed them even though some of them ignored such advice.

He said: “I don't speak what people want to hear, I speak what God tells me to say. That is why some people are very angry with me. Nobody has ever told me what to say in this world. No.

“I have never campaigned for anybody or speak on anybody’s behalf and I will not do that till I go to heaven, Amen. There is no party in this country that didn’t come to me for prayers and for advice.

“I advised them, some they don't take. Those who chose to take it, they see results. Those who said no, they are going about it (laughs). “If you still come again, I will still tell you, it doesn’t change.”

Oyedepo's message is coming amid controversies over a leaked audio conversation that has been making the rounds since the night of Saturday, April 1, 2023.

In the said audio conversation, the Bishop and the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, were heard discussing how to rally Christian voters in the South-West and places in the North-Central states of Kwara, Kogi, and Niger.

The talk, which was reportedly held on the eve of the presidential election of February 25, 2023, saw Obi imploring Oyedepo to help pass messages to Christians across the South-West as well as those in Kwara, Kogi, and Niger.

The former Anambra State governor can be heard saying, “Daddy, I need you to speak to your people in the South-West and Kwara, the Christians in the South-West and Kwara.”

Obi pressed on by noting that “This is a religious war,” to which Oyedepo replied, “I believe that, I believe that, I believe that."

When the Labour Party flag-bearer said, “Like I keep saying: if this works, you people will never regret the support,” the Bishop promised to circulate more messages to Christians on his behalf adding, “We look forward to God’s intervention.”

Meanwhile, there have been conflicting reactions from the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council regarding the authenticity of the audio tape.

A spokesman of the Obi-Datti Campaign Council, Kenneth Okonkwo, confirmed on Sunday, April 2, 2023, that the voices in the leaked audio were that of Obi and Oyedepo.

But, the Head, Media and Communications of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Diran Onifade, described the purported audio conversation as a product of the endless forgeries the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has a notoriety for.

Onifade also alleged that the aim of the audio tape as orchestrated by the APC was to demarket Obi and cause religious tension in the country.