Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has revealed what the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, told him during a recent meeting.
Sowore said Adeboye also told him that he knew his ways were pure during their private conversation at the church’s national headquarters in Ebute-Metta, Lagos.
The activist disclosed this during an interview on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, about a week after attending the RCCG’s National Thanksgiving Service.
Recounting the encounter, Sowore said Adeboye recognised him and recalled that he had been praying for him.
“He said to me, ‘You know, I know you very well, and I pray for you all the time, and I know your ways are pure, and that you will triumph,’” the AAC presidential candidate said.
According to Sowore, the meeting took place after the thanksgiving service when he was initially directed to wait near Adeboye’s car. He was later informed that the cleric wanted to see him in the church’s vestry.
Sowore explained that their conversation also touched on their first meeting in 1996, when he approached Adeboye for support in a campaign against cultism in Nigerian universities.
He recalled that he visited the cleric after completing his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme to seek his assistance in addressing the growing problem of cultism on university campuses.
According to Sowore, Adeboye supported the campaign and directed that N10,000 be given to him to help fund the initiative.
“We used it to go and campaign against cultism,” he said.
The activist said he was surprised that Adeboye remembered their earlier encounter and the campaign they discussed nearly three decades ago.
He added that their recent meeting was largely a personal conversation and did not involve discussions about his political ambition or plans for the 2027 general elections.
Sowore also disclosed that Adeboye asked for permission to pray for him during their meeting. He agreed to the request but told the cleric that he would keep his eyes open during the prayer.
“So he did pray for me, and we stood up, and we laughed,” he said.
When asked whether the meeting involved a conversation about giving his life to Christ, Sowore said it did not.
“We didn’t have that kind of conversation because giving life to Christ is for people who are into organised religion. I am not into organised religion,” he said.
Days before recounting his meeting with Adeboye, Sowore threatened to boycott the 2027 elections if staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) continued to receive what he described as poor remuneration.
He also demanded a minimum wage of N500,000 for INEC workers, arguing that their welfare was important to ensuring credible elections.
Sowore made the demand in a post on his verified X handle while reacting to comments by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, who said the commission’s personnel were the least-paid workers in Nigeria.
“No decent wages, no credible elections,” Sowore declared.
He argued that workers responsible for conducting elections should receive decent wages if they were expected to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
The AAC presidential candidate further warned that he would join INEC workers in boycotting the 2027 elections if their welfare concerns continued to be ignored.
“If these workers continue to be treated with contempt, I will join them in boycotting the 2027 elections,” he said.
Sowore also maintained that INEC workers had the right to organise and demand better conditions of service, including through lawful industrial action.
Responding to concerns about the welfare of electoral officials, Amupitan said INEC had begun taking steps to improve staff remuneration and working conditions.
“INEC staff are the least paid in Nigeria. So, we felt if we want to demand and hold our staff responsible, we should give them a living wage,” the INEC chairman said.
He disclosed that the commission had taken what he described as “some very radical steps” to prioritise the welfare of its personnel.
Amupitan also said INEC had been removed from the conventional civil service payment structure to allow it to operate a separate salary structure.
“We are not called civil servants. What we have learned under the civil service payment structure, which we have just removed INEC from, is to have their own separate structure, electoral structure, and separate salary structure from the civil service,” he said.
The INEC chairman explained that the changes were part of efforts to address identified weaknesses in the electoral system and improve the commission’s operations ahead of the 2027 elections.
He also said the commission was making provisions for possible rerun elections, describing them as a constitutional requirement that must be considered during preparations for general elections.
“The issue of rerun is a constitutional matter. And as we are planning for the election, you have to plan for a rerun,” Amupitan said.
