The founder and senior pastor of Celebration Church International (CCI), Emmanuel Iren has apologized to Nigerians who were triggered by his comments on Peter Obi’s take on the church and how it affects productivity in Nigeria.
News About Nigeria recalls that the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election had left many talking after his interview with the Honest Bunch Podcast where claimed it is only politics and the church that are productive in the country.
The former Anambra State Governor had also noted that because of this many Nigerians are not productive as they have abandoned night shifts for consistent night vigils and church attendance.
This comment had in turn sparked disgust among Christians who had challenged the statement as false.
Speaking in a fresh development in a sermon in his church on Sunday, Pastor Iren had encouraged his congregants to not allow such statements to deter them from serving God.
He also noted that Obi blew it out of proportion as there is no church in the country where people attend vigil on a daily basis.
The now viral clip has sparked reactions on social media as some are applauding him for saying the truth while many others are berating him, noting that he misunderstood Obi and is speaking up because stopping the vigils would affect his ‘business.’
In response to this, the Pastor clarified that he is an Obi supporter who agrees with him on political issues but won’t keep quiet when the church is being ridiculed.
He further apologized to those who misunderstood him, noting that he is an advocate of productivity and spirituality.
This according to him is because your productivity should not be affected because of your spirituality and your spirituality should also not be affected because you want to be productive as a Christian.
His post on X reads, “I hear you. I hear what you’ve said and what you have not said. If you feel I misconstrued his words, I apologize.
Again, disagreement is not an attack.
“1. Mr Peter Obi didn’t say vigils are wrong
2. He is a Christian himself and goes to Church. That is decent enough
3. I saw some of you worry my comments may make him lose goodwill amongst some Christians (which was not my intention). We can disagree on some ideologies, yet still respect him and what he stands for in governance.
“How much of praying is needed is a subjective, personal and theological issue. Still, I think it’s convenient to criticize the church instead of addressing the real issues.It is possible to be both productive and prayerful. I do both. I advocate for both.
“For all believers who have done same, soldier on. For those who say I was silent about other national issues, a quick search will prove you wrong. I will continue to speak against the incessant and unprovoked criticism of the Church when I feel it is not justified. At the end of the day, a more productive country favours us all.”
