Jonathan in secret meeting with pastors; says “Osinbajo is my problem”

Apparently ruffled by the momentum generated by the nomination of Yemi Osinbajo, a professor and pastor, as the running mate of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress [APC], Muhammadu Buhari, President Goodluck Jonathan is asking a group of Pentecostal pastors to help him avert what he fears could be a loss in next month’s presidential polls.

Mr. Osinbajo, a prominent cleric with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, law professor and Senior Advocate of Nigeria [SAN] emerged APC’s presidential running mate last month giving President Jonathan and the ruling party, PDP, what sources described as sleepless nights.

Specifically last Thursday, the President held a meeting in Abuja, with a number of Pentecostal pastors led by Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel, with the main agenda being how to fashion out ways to solve the “Osinbajo” problem.

Sources at the meeting confirmed that President Jonathan confessed in a rather rattled and humbling manner that “Osinbajo is my problem”.

According to those at the meeting, the President added that “everything was okay until APC picked Osinbajo”.

At the meeting organized by the Executive Secretary of the National Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) John Kennedy Okpara, President Jonathan poured out his mind that running against a leading Pastor of the RCCG, who is also known to be very close to the much reverred General Overseer of the church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, is an uphill task.

Sources at the meeting said Mr. Jonathan was ruffled and much distracted as he confessed to the challenge the APC naming of Mr. Osinbajo as Mr. Buhari’s running mate is posing to his reelection.

In response, the Pastors, led by Bishop Oyedepo, assured the President at the meeting that they would, “starting from today,” use every device possible including social media, the pulpit and influence peddling, to campaign in support of President Jonathan and against the Buhari-Osinbajo ticket.

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