Apostle Eugene Ogu, General Overseer of Abundant Life Evangel Mission (ALEM), has blamed President Bola Tinubu for the political crisis in Rivers.
Ogu, a former chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Rivers, said the removal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara was the direct handiwork of the president.
“Whatever is happening, or had happened, in Rivers State is the making of Tinubu and no one else. Was it Wike that removed the governor? Of course, it was the president who did. The buck stops on his table,” he said in an interview in Port Harcourt.
He said the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas as the sole administrator of the state lacks legitimacy.
Ogu also predicted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will face a mass exodus ahead of the 2027 general election, saying Nigerians have lost confidence in the ruling party.
“Mark my words, in 2026, APC will almost become a desert. All these people moving into the party now just want to protect themselves,” he said.
The cleric faulted church leaders for keeping silent, accusing them of complicity in Nigeria’s political crisis.
“The church is an accomplice but not the driver of the problems we are facing in Nigeria. Some church leaders are even ashamed to speak now. Those who supported this regime are now afraid to speak. They can’t believe what they have seen,” he said.
He dismissed Tinubu’s claims of ending corruption and halting external borrowing, saying such statements are misleading.
“I heard him say no more borrowing but the following day he requested for billions of dollars from the National Assembly. They take Nigerians for granted. Nigeria owes trillions in foreign debt. I don’t think they understand the plight of the people in this country,” he said.
Ogu added that only electoral reforms can prevent deeper crises in 2027.
“There must be complete electoral reforms that will guarantee that the votes of Nigerians count. The only escape route for them is a free and sincere election in 2027,” he said.
The cleric said he would continue to mobilise for change and expressed willingness to serve if called upon by his people.
“I am ready to serve in any capacity if my people want me to do so. Under my leadership as president general of my community in Imo, God is using us to do so much there. We have given scholarships to so many people, including those from other churches. That is how to serve God,” he said.