Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri has chided the media for reporting that he “slammed” respected cleric, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, over the latter’s comment on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Omokri made the clarification on Friday following his reaction to a video clip of Adeboye, who is the General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), expressing solidarity with Israel in the ongoing conflict.
The cleric said, “Hello my beloved brothers in Israel, I want you to know that we are praying for you, that all members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God all over the world are standing by you at this critical moment.
“The almighty God, the only one of Israel, will give you absolute victory and give you permanent peace from now on in the mighty name of Jesus.
“It is my prayer for all our brethren in Israel that the Almighty will grant you absolute peace from now on in Jesus name. #Israel #peace.”
Reacting in an X post, Omokri said that Pastor Adeboye should take note that Palestine has more Christians than Israel.
In another post on Friday, Omokri said that the media had misconstrued his comment as “slamming” the man of God.
“I urge newspapers and other media to stop reporting that I “slammed” Pastor Enoch Adeboye. I did not! I have the utmost respect for Pastor Adeboye and would not slam him,” the former presidential aide said.
He said he only politely drew the attention of Pastor Adeboye to the necessity of also praying for Palestine and Palestinians, and not just Israel.
“It was further stated to the very respected cleric that half a million Palestinians are Christians who will feel ignored, abandoned, and denigrated when a prominent Nigerian Christian leader of global influence prays for Israel without praying for them and states explicitly that God will give “victory” to Israel.
“That prayer may indicate that Christians have sided with Israel against them.
“I stated that this may have been an oversight on the part of the pastor, and perhaps he could address it to give Palestinians a sense of belonging,” Omokri said.