PFN Calls for New Constitution, Seeks Real-time Election Result Transmission

.Warns against use of church pulpits for 2027 campaigns

Sunday Ehigiator

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has called for the creation of a new constitution that guarantees equal treatment of all religions, describing the current 1999 Constitution (as amended) as religiously biased and a product of military imposition.

PFN President, Bishop Wale Oke, made the call yesterday, during a press briefing held in Lagos.

Oke said the present constitution does not reflect the will of Nigerians, insisting that it should be replaced with a document driven by the people.

According to him, “There is a constitutional review that is going on and the stand of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has been consistent that this constitution that we’re running now is a contraption and we should jettison it and initiate the process to have a constitution that will represent the will of the people, that will begin with we; the people of Nigeria, giving ourselves this constitution.

“Not the constitution that the military handed over to us and we’re patching it up and patching it up; a constitution that we see as biased and unbalanced.

“A constitution that mentions Sharia, Islam many times and there is no mention of the church or Christians at any instance, not once. And such a constitution is not acceptable to us. It is a constitution that ignores the feelings and the aspiration of over 50 per cent of the populace of Nigeria.

“Our faith is not mentioned, and the other faith dominates the page, as though Nigeria is an Islamic nation and Nigeria by constitution is not an Islamic nation. It is a secular nation, and they can’t sell it.

“Give us a constitution that does not play a religious game where no religion is mentioned, and it is fair to all or give us a constitution where the religions that we practice are equally emphasised.

“Not that one is emphasised, and the other is ignored as though the church is a minority. And we make bold to say that the church is not a minority at all. If statistics have anything to do with it, the church is approximately 50 per cent plus of the population of Nigeria and the constitution does not take into consideration our feelings, our passion, our faith is not fair.

“If it is silent on all religions, there’ll be no complaint. But it’s silent on the Christian faith, and it’s very loud and vocal on the other faith. We, the church in Nigeria, reject it in totality.”

On electoral reforms, Oke pledged PFN’s support for the real-time electronic transmission of election results, stressing the need to strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.

“We must also acknowledge that we support the Nigerian people in the outcry against the attempt to avoid a real-time transmission of electoral results during the election.

“We stand with the Nigerian people to insist that that should be. Nigeria has developed to a point where we must trust our electoral system, and one of the ways to trust our electoral system is to make sure that the votes of Nigerians count and our votes should count. So, we support the transmission of electoral results through the electronic medium.”

Similarly, the PFN leader also warned politicians against using churches as platforms for political campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections, stressing that governance must take priority over politicking.

“For a long time across every level of government, governance is laid aside while politicking is at the centre stage. For goodness sake, let’s govern and let INEC blow the whistle before campaigns begin,” he said.

Speaking on national security, Oke commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for its efforts to tackle insecurity, including restructuring the security architecture and strengthening international collaboration.

“We commend the efforts of the federal government in tackling insecurity. We can see the efforts. We can see the change in the military architecture, the security architecture, and the appointment of a new national security minister, minister of defence.

“We also see the partnership with America in getting expertise, training, equipment, and tools. We commend the federal government for the effort, and we appreciate the President.”

However, he urged the federal government to intensify its efforts, citing recent incidents of killings and kidnappings in parts of the country.

“These evil people have not relented. They kidnapped people in Benue State, killed hundreds in Kwara State and attacked communities in other parts of the country. We are asking the government to double its effort to deal with those trying to make our nation unsafe.

“We know this government inherited the challenge, but the government inherited both assets and liabilities. So we are praying for Mr. President and his team, and we are asking them to double up their effort.

“We’re praying for our men in uniform. We’re praying for their commanders and their leaders that God will give them a solution to the challenge of insecurity. When there is security, that’s when there is peace. That’s when there is progress, and that’s when there is prosperity.

“Finally, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria unanimously and decisively condemned the reported act to change the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through violent coup. Coup plotting is no longer acceptable to Nigeria.

“As much as people are complaining about the current dispensation of democracy, we don’t want to change it with a coup. It’s not acceptable. So, we advise the federal government to make sure the coup plotters are properly interrogated, and those who are found guilty should face the full wrath of the law so it will serve as a warning to other people not to play that kind of a game.”

Oke assured that the PFN would continue to pray for the President, security agencies and government institutions, while urging authorities to ensure that the 2027 elections are free, fair and credible.