Ejike Mbaka, spiritual director of the Adoration Ministry (AMEN), has admitted meeting President Muhammadu Buhari with three persons over a contract that has become controversial.
Although the Catholic priest denied meeting the president for any personal gain, he admitted during his sermon on Sunday that the deal in question was a “contract of securing the country”.
He also said the meeting was during Buhari’s first term when he went to “hand over” three white men he never knew but who said, “they had the platform to end insecurity in this country under one month”.
The presidency had accused the cleric of seeking Buhari’s removal as president because he was rebuffed after seeking government contracts.
According to Garba Shehu, the presidential spokesman that made the allegation, “Father Mbaka asked for a meeting and to the shock of Presidential Aides, he came accompanied by three contractors.
The President graciously allowed them in, and to everyone’s surprise, Father Mbaka asked for contracts as compensation for his support.”
Addressing thousands in his congregation in Emene, Enugu state, Mbaka said the white men in question were in Enugu to request his assistance in reaching the president.
He also attacked Shehu and the presidency for choosing to hide the truth while “you started attacking the person who said the truth.”
He said: “When they talked about giving Father Mbaka contracts, I don’t want to talk about that, I was laughing. It is a laughable, childish accusation.
Whoever is saying that is a shame to himself and shame to the people he is representing. The three men he talked about, I am not here to defend anybody’s stupid allegation, but God used that man to tell the world that Buhari’s government is not giving me money.
“Shehu, may God bless you for telling everybody that you are not giving me a contract. And these are the three men that we brought that will handle insecurity for the country; they had the gadgets. The white people had the facilities. That was during the first administration.
“They said they will help them in conquering insecurity. They had the platform to end insecurity in this country under one month; under Abba Kyari. I just handed them over to the government people. They denied them of these.
“I don’t even know these people. They just came to Enugu and said, can I help them reach the government, that the level of insecurity in this country and how Nigeria has been shipping their oil out, refining and bringing them back, that we are losing.
That they have all it takes to revive the oil apparatus in the country and get the whole youths employed and the issue of insecurity will die. These are the three people they rejected their offer, since they know how to talk.”
On the one hand, Mbaka said he had nothing to gain from the said meeting, but on the other hand, he attacked the presidency for not having a “reward mechanism”.
He spoke about the people he has helped in life and asked: “All the people they have been giving contracts, are they better than me? Am I begging them, do they know how many people I feed? Fortunately, they reported that they denied me of the contract — which contract?”
“And even the people they are talking about that went there, I didn’t even discuss one percent of ‘if you get this contract’; contract of securing the country? What am I going to gain from it? As if to say when he pushes that, Father Mbaka is no longer a Nigerian,” he said.
“They have shown that they don’t have what they will call, reward mechanism. If Shehu is a human… I don’t even know who the Shehu is. He should be apologising that by now, they have not come down to say nagode Allah for surviving whatever they are passing through.
The last person this administration should fight is Father Mbaka talking here because if they speak against me, the anger of heaven will be upon them and how they will end will shock everybody.”
The priest further dismissed reports asking the Catholic church and Pope Francis to discipline him, saying he will be rewarded for speaking against “evil governance.”
“If Rome hears that Father Mbaka is challenging evil governance, Rome will clap for me, so quickly go to Rome,” he said.
“Why I don’t want them even to report this to Rome is because if pope hears the extent of my involvement, they may give me a position I may not like You want to report Messi to FIFA that he plays too much ball? They will make him soccer ambassador.”
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