Pastor Femi Emmanuel, the presiding pastor of Livingspring Chapel International, has denounced the increasing participation of church leaders in partisan political discussions, claiming that many pastors discuss governance while having little knowledge of how politics operate.
In an interview with TVC News on Wednesday, Emmanuel stated that while many clergy sincerely care about Nigeria, they frequently make political remarks without having enough understanding of public policy and government.
The clergyman claims that while most pastors are enthusiastic about the nation’s advancement, they lack real-world political expertise.
“My people, fellow pastors, fellow general overseers, they are very passionate about this country. They work hard, they believe in this country, they love this country. But when it comes to politics, they are completely ignorant.”
He maintained that rather than taking actively in governance, many religious leaders condemn government policies from a distance.
“You are not where laws are made, you are not where policies are implemented, but you are shouting from the pulpit. That is shouting from the back of the fence.”
Additionally, Pastor Emmanuel addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding Muslim-Muslim and Christian-Muslim presidential tickets, arguing that Christians or the church do not always gain from political office holders’ religious affiliation.
He mentioned former Vice President Pastor Yemi Osinbajo’s term under former President Muhammadu Buhari in reference to the 2019 general election.
“All this talk of Muslim-Muslim, Christian-Christian, I ask them, in 2019 it was not just a Christian-Muslim ticket, it was a Christian pastor ticket. Our brother and friend, Pastor Yemi Osinbajo, very cerebral, very brilliant, very outspoken. But what did he bring to the body of Christ as a church?”
He added that the Vice President’s authority is restricted by the Nigerian Constitution.
“Our constitution says the vice president is a spare tyre. So what Christians are arguing for is, ‘We want a vice president.’ What would that bring to the church? Nothing. We are Nigerians.”
Instead of depending only on prayers and sermons, the former Deputy Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, who held the position from 1992 to 1993, urged Christians, young people, and other Nigerians to get involved in grassroots politics.
He stressed that political influence begins at the ward level.
“Political fathers, their power is the ward. That’s where you and I should go. That’s where the corporate majority should go. That is where the youth should invade. That is where the church community should invade.”