Northern elders want Arewa pastors who visited President treated like Judas

The Northern Christian Elders Forum (NOCEF) has distanced itself from the Arewa Pastors Non-Denominational Initiative for Peace in Nigeria who visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa on Thursday.

The religious group had promised to expose their colleagues working against the Buhari administrationto security agenies.

But addressing journalists at the weekend in Jos, the Plateau state capital, spokesman of NOCEF and Secretary of CAN (North West Zone), Sunday Oibe, described the group as aliens to the body of Jesus Christ.

Oibe who accused the clerics of betraying Christians in Nigeria noted that they should be treated like Judas Iscariot.

He advised President Buhari ‘never to spend taxpayers’ money on them’ saying they were only on a political pilgrimage to the Villa.

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His words: “Ordinarily, just coming out from the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ at Easter for our salvation and still reflecting on the benefits of this sacrifice, we would not have bothered to respond to them. But for incessant calls from notable Christians across the country, it is necessary to put the records straight.

“They should be treated like Judas Iscariot because their action is antithetical to the body of Christ. The summary of the action of these so-called Arewa Pastors led by one John Richard Abu from Benue State and the timing is a confirmation that the spirit of Judas Iscariot is still around and within us.

“For Judas to agree to betray Jesus before the Jewish authorities and for these unknown Arewa Pastors to betray the Nigerian Christian community who have been crying for the release of Leah Sharibu has confirmed that Judas is alive among us. We also call on Christians to intensify their prayers for the immediate and unconditional release of Leah Sharibu, while we also urge the President to step up and the killings in the country.”

Oibe described them as APC, “, whose conducts are very unfortunate.

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He said the calibre of those who visited Buhari have been known to be only relevant at the peak of political activities, adding, “what we are witnessing now is a rehearsal of what to come during the 2019 general elections.”

“Why are their voices lost over the continuous captivity of , if truly they are men of God as they claimed? Why are their voices not being heard over the killings in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa, Zamfara, Borno and Yobe states?

“While they were sycophantly singing praises to Buhari like the Biblical Judas, dozens were slaughtered in Benue, the home state of John Richard Abu and as usual, their voices were lost.

“They are not known in the Northern Christian hemisphere. In a gathering of 10 Christians in the 19 Northern states and FCT, seven will emanate from the bloc of CAN.

“We hereby state that these strange faces and political jobbers are unknown to us in the North as they spoke for their pockets. As such, Buhari should beware of these traitors! Their claims of Buhari’s good intentions is simply sycophancy because Nigerians voted for an actionable leader and not a leader whose intention is only known to these hungry clerics.

“We are telling the President and Nigerian politicians to be wary of these political jobbers dressed in cassock as their intentions are out for everybody to see. In particular, we warn the President never to spend taxpayers’ money on them.

“We are aware that Buhari knows that these people are looking for food. Our independent investigation reveals that the leader is unknown in his own home state of Benue and at the appropriate time, we will expose all of them," he added.

'Arewa pastors were hired'

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the Arewa Pastors who visited President Buhari at the Villa were 'hired' to endorse the APC-led government.

PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan stated this on Sunday, April 8, 2018.