The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has called on President Bola Tinubu to reject a bill banning preaching in commercial vehicles, arguing the legislation is misguided and unnecessary. The Christian organisation said the proposed law doesn't tackle Nigeria's most pressing concerns: insecurity, hunger and economic hardship.
Bishop David Bakare, the PFN's national secretary, made the appeal after the group's National Executive Council met in Lagos. He told journalists the bill represented a needless attack on Christians and distracted from genuine national priorities.
"Many laws already exist in Nigeria which, if properly enforced, can bring sanity to different aspects of our national life," Bakare said. "Our concern is that this law is not the urgent need of Nigerians at this time."
The bishop questioned how lawmakers classified preaching in commercial vehicles as a traffic offence. He suggested legislators hadn't consulted widely before advancing the measure and said other genuine traffic violations remained unaddressed.
"We cannot understand how this has become a traffic offence in any form," Bakare noted. "There are other issues that can be considered traffic offences in Nigeria that have not been addressed."
The PFN expressed alarm about the bill's progress through the National Assembly, saying it lacked visibility after the Senate passed it. Bakare warned that religious matters demanded sensitive handling given Nigeria's faith diversity and potential for tension.
According to him, many Christians view the proposal as deliberately designed to pit churches against the government. "Christians in Nigeria consider that law as being against the church," he said.
"It is deliberately organised to stir up the church against the state."
Bakare appealed directly to President Tinubu to reject the bill and send it back for broader consultation with affected communities. He urged the government to involve religious leaders and other stakeholders in meaningful debate before reconsidering such legislation.
"Let the public debate it," Bakare added. "Invite the relevant people who are directly affected by such laws to come and discuss it."
The PFN reiterated its position that the bill fails to address Nigeria's core challenges and shouldn't command government attention in the current climate.
