The outspoken Catholic priest and the Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry in Enugu, Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka, on Friday met behind closed-door for over 30 minutes with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Mbaka stirred controversy earlier in the year when he delivered a message that former President Goodluck Jonathan would fail in the presidential election.
He had said that the Holy Spirit told him Jonathan was not favoured to continue as President going by the state of the Nigerian economy and widespread insecurity, which he had failed to contain.
The clergyman who was accompanied by four men met with Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement quoted the President as telling Mbaka that the best exhortations to the nation he has heard from the pulpit was the one made earlier in the year by Mbaka.
Adesina quoted the President as commending the Catholic priest’s exemplary courage.
“Thank you very much for what you have done and said. It brought you out to the whole country as a man of courage.
“It was honest and well delivered. It has gone into the records as one of the best concerns expressed from the pulpit, not because it favoured me and my party, the All Progressives Congress, but because it was good for the country, ” the President was further quoted as telling Mbaka.
Buhari reaffirmed his conviction that change will come to the country, “with a lot of hard work, despite the security and economic problems.”
He appealed for the continued understanding and patience of Nigerians.
Osinbajo was also quoted as describing the priest as a man “who stood for truth and propriety, and declared corruption unacceptable.”
He added that the Buhari administration “is committed to truth and justice, and won’t encourage corruption in any way.”
Mbaka said he was happy with the mission and methodology of the Buhari administration.
He also wished the President a happy 73rd birthday.
He later told State House correspondents that he visited the President in order to commit the nation into God’s hand.
He expressed the conviction that after the storm, God would restore sanity to the country.
He said, “We have come to commit our country into the hands of God and pray for peace in our land and to establish permanent blessing upon all Nigerians as we are going for Christmas.
“We wish to pray for spiritual revival, economic revamp and for moral probity in this country, committing the country to the Jesus that is born.
“We are committing the entirety of this Aso Rock to the hands of God and commit the good missions and visions of the President to the hands of God.
“We are here to commend Nigeria to Jesus so that it shall be well with our people, that heaven will celebrate Christmas for Nigerians; that Nigerians will have reasons to say that God is great during this 2015 Christmas season.
“We are praying for His anointing upon our land, that the Holy Spirit will be the tabernacle in this country and we bless even the born and the unborn of the Nigerian citizenry, that any area that there used to be crisis, God will introduce peace.
“In Micah 5:5, His name is Shalom which means peace. In John 20:19, He says peace be unto you. In John 20:211, He says peace be unto you. In John 20:26, He says peace be with you.
“So we have come to sing the same song of peace be with you to all Nigerians and to pray for blessings upon our people and impact spiritual favours upon them.
“As we are going for Christmas, may the blessings of Nehemiah 2:20 be upon them and the land. And the man of God says we will succeed.
“I wish to assure Nigerians that in the midst of what is happening, we shall succeed because when God made David to be successful, he was promoted. A time of promotion is coming for this land irrespective of what we are passing through.
“I pray for Nigeria’s success, we will succeed. I am singing a song of success.”
