Former President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Ayo Oritsejafor, has said the administration of President Bola Tinubu is moving the country backwards, urging the President not to seek another term in office.

The clergy recalled warning Nigerians ahead of the 2015 general election that Muhammadu Buhari would fail, but that his concerns were ignored.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ with Seun Okinbaloye, Oritsejafor said he largely agreed with recent remarks by Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, who had called on Tinubu to step down over poor governance.

“The government of Tinubu has done more harm to this nation than this nation has ever experienced. For all that, I agree with Obi, but I would not sit here categorically and tell him, resign.

“But I think what I would say to him is, look, don’t pretend to know what to do when you don’t know what to do. Don’t pretend that you can take Nigeria out of where it is now, when you know you can’t, and begin to plan to come back. In one of the programmes I did, I said, ‘Look, I hear people say renewed hope’; you must have hope first before you renew it.

“The average Nigerian today has no hope, except if you say you look up to God to give you hope. So, I would leave President Tinubu to make that choice himself. One thing I can say categorically is, look, don’t begin to dream of coming back to continue this same mess.”

According to the cleric, the country’s challenges have deepened under the current administration.

Oritsejafor said he foresaw challenges under the Buhari government and had expressed his concerns before the administration took office.

“In 2014, I tried to warn this nation of the direction it was going,” he said. “I would say it plain, when the Buhari government was getting ready to come in, I knew that it was going to be a mess, and I think from there, I don’t know what to call where we are now, but it has grown worse.”

The cleric said the country’s current situation compelled him to return to public commentary on governance and leadership issues after years of relative silence.

“It has got to a point where I feel I must begin to say something, because I pastor people; they are human beings, they are Nigerians, and we must begin to hold people accountable for what’s happening,” he said.