Ugar Ukandi Odey, Jos
Rev Danjuma Byang has denied news reports circulating in the social media that he admitted collecting millions of Naira as ‘transport money’ from Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress when the Northern Pentecostal Bishops Tinubu in Abuja.
Rev Byang, in a statement Wednesday, expressed shock that the the false reports also alleged that he said Tinubu gave Archbishop John Praise Daniel N100 million, while other Bishops in attendance collected monies ranging from 50, 20, to 10 million naira depending on their ranks!
” I wish to put it on record that I did not write or say anything like that anywhere or to anyone!”, he reacted.
According to him, ”for avoidance of doubt, I did not say I regretted collecting any money from Tinubu! And I did not say any body collected any money from Tinubu! I did not collect any such money and I didn’t see anyone collecting it”!
Byang said the reports credited to him were tissues of lies from the enemies of the Gospel, calculated to tarnish his reputation and that of the conveners of the meeting.
”It is mischievous slander”, he said, meant to create confusion among Christians and set brother against brother, and to destroy the Church’s resolve to unite and give Christians a sense of direction in the 2023 general elections”.
He said “as it has been explained by the conveners of the meeting, the meeting with Tinubu was meant to interface with him on the thorny issue of the day – the Muslim/Muslim ticket. It was to hear him out and also to express our concerns to him as Christians in the North about it. And this was wonderfully done during the meeting!”
He stressed that this type of interface is ongoing with different political candidates meeting with different groups and organizations.
”Therefore, this effort should have been applauded and appreciated by all! It is uncharitable to impute base motives to a meeting with a clear and honorable objective!”, Byang regretted, lamenting that “the mudslinging going on is not going to help Christians put up an impressionable and united front in their desire to salvage Nigeria from the precipice where it is now”, and advisef that “we must stop name calling and put our heads together to move forward”.
