Mbaka’s loyalists accuse PDP, Ohanaeze Ndigbo of stage-managing his transfer
Members of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu Nigeria (AMEN) have accused the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Calistus Onaga, of bowing to the pressures mounted on him by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to transfer Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka out of the ‘Adoration Ground.’
Mbaka is the priest in charge of the Adoration Ministry, which has millions of followers drawn from various churches.
But Ohanaeze Ndigbo yesterday dismissed the claim as “mere gossips”, stressing that it was not the duty of the group to wade into religious matters to the point of influencing transfer of priests.
Secretary General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr Joe Nworgu, stated that it was rather the responsibility of bishops to transfer their priests anyhow and anywhere they wished, adding that the priests concerned must obey for the sake of decorum and order.
Similarly, former Communications Director of the Catholic Diocese of
Enugu, Rev Fr. Evans Offor, had told The Guardian that the transfer was a general routine, adding that Mbaka was transferred near the Adoration Ground to enable him concentrate on developing the place. He absolved Bishop Onaga of any form of blame on the development in the church.
Mbaka was moved to a parish in Emene, near Enugu, as Resident Priest after about 20 years as Parish Priest of the Christ the King Parish, GRA, Enugu, last month.
In a statement released in Enugu yesterday by Mr. Kingsley
Eze, (Igbo Youth Kaduna), Sunday Ukam, JP; (Enugu Adorer) Adedije
Wale (Osun State Adorer), and 20 others, they maintained that the transfer of Mbaka out of the Christ the King Parish GRA, Enugu, fell short of the routine transfer of priests in the diocese.
They alleged that whereas former Bishops in the diocese gave Mbaka all the support needed for the ministry to flourish, Bishop Onaga had been acting a script aimed at bringing the fiery priest down.
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