RHGN: Ngoforo hosts Southeast Pentecostal clergy
- Seeks church backing for Tinubu’s reelection bid
The Southeast chapter of the Renewed Hope for Greater Nigeria (RHGN) yesterday engaged Pentecostal clerics across the region in a closed-door meeting held in Awka, the Anambra State capital, as part of efforts to broaden support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reelection bid ahead of the 2027 general election.
The meeting, convened by the Deputy National Leader of RHGN for the Southeast, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, drew clerics representing various Pentecostal Christian denominations from the five states of the Southeast, in what the organisers described as a critical step in the group’s outreach to the region’s faith community.
Speaking on behalf of the clerics, Rev. Gilbert Umennadili of God’s Love Revival Ministries Inc. said the clergy responded to Ngoforo’s invitation because the scriptures enjoin believers to pray for those in authority and remain loyal to constituted civil leadership.
He said that despite Nigeria’s numerous challenges, the country was not beyond divine intervention, urging churches across the Southeast to sustain prayers for President Tinubu and his administration.
Addressing the gathering, Ngoforo outlined what he described as the achievements of the Tinubu administration in the Southeast. According to him, these include efforts toward the creation of an additional state for the zone, the advanced implementation of state police, increased federal allocations to Southeast states, and the establishment and funding of the South East Development Commission (SEDC).
He told the clerics that the Christian community in the region remained a critical partner in the quest to build a greater and more prosperous Nigeria.
Ngoforo further urged the clergy to support the policies of the administration and President Tinubu’s reelection bid, describing the President as a leader who had “taken the bullet” for Nigerians by implementing far-reaching reforms that previous administrations avoided for fear of political backlash.
He argued that the courage to take difficult but necessary decisions was already yielding visible dividends across the Southeast, particularly in infrastructure development, security, and increased revenue allocation to states.
The Awka engagement came barely a week after RHGN’s Southeast chapter held its maiden world press conference in Owerri, where the group unveiled an ambitious grassroots mobilisation plan, including a 50-man “Booth Army” for every polling unit in the zone, campus wings in tertiary institutions, and market wings across major markets, all aimed at delivering four million votes for President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Political observers say the outreach to the clergy signals a broadening of RHGN’s mobilisation strategy beyond conventional political and youth structures to include religious institutions, which continue to wield significant influence over public opinion in the Southeast.
The meeting ended with commitments from the clerics to continue engaging their congregations on issues of governance and national development, while RHGN reiterated its call on traditional rulers, market leaders, professionals, and youths across Igboland to rally behind the Tinubu administration ahead of the 2027 general election.
