‘Unknown God Men’: Tinubu denies hiring clerics at Shettima’s unveiling

The candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has denied hiring clerics, generally referred to as ‘Unknown God Men’ on social media, at the unveiling of his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, during the ceremony held at Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja

Tinubu made the denial in a statement issued by The Tinubu Campaign Organisation (TCO), saying that the viral videos and pictures of the clerics at the event were the handiworks of political opponents.

News Band had reported that Nigerians from various backgrounds accused Tinubu’s handlers of procuring the services of what they described as ‘unknown bishops and pastors’ to the grace the unveiling of Senator Kashim Shettima as the Vice Presidential running mate of the former Lagos State governor.

Many faulted the presence of Christian clerics at the event, alleging they were hired and fake.

Reacting to the allegation, Tinubu said the clerics were at the event, which was open to all, as genuine well-wishers.

In the statement signed on behalf of TCO by the Director of Media and Communication, Mr. Bayo Onanuga,  Tinubu described the development as unwarranted distractions.

TCO stated: “The event was an open affair, which allowed members of the public to attend, including the clergymen and some others now being derided by hirelings of the opposition.

“We want to say that those clergymen were not fake, not mechanics or yam sellers as the purveyors of hatred have made Nigerians believe in the social media. They are not big names in Christendom yet, they are gradually building up their missions.

“They are church leaders who genuinely believe that Nigerians must eschew politics of hatred and religious bigotry and rather embrace politics of peace and nation building.

“We, therefore, deplore the hysterical twisting of the presence of these men and women in cassocks and the false accusation against our candidates, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Shettima.

“The orchestrated social media sensation over the presence of the men is needless and all calculated to detract from the huge success recorded at the momentous event on Wednesday.

“We believe Nigerians are too wise and discerning to see through this shenanigan. Asiwaju Tinubu and his running mate and our great party are working very hard to provide purposeful leadership and good progressive governance that will improve the quality of life of Nigerians.

“We are well aware that the opposition parties and the sponsors of the social media charade are jittery and threatened by the intimidating political credentials of our candidates.

“The only way they hope to shift the attention of public scrutiny away from their uninspiring candidates and credentials is to create social media distraction.

“Our campaign is determined on focusing on core governance issues that affect all Nigerians to confront them and make the desired improvements in the standard of living of our people.”

—

©Copyright 2022 News Band

(If you would like to receive CURRENT NEWS updates from News Band on WhatsApp, join here; for Telegram, join here. If the group is full, send WhatsApp/Telegram message to +234 905 038 2526)

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook