The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has called on President Bola Tinubu to reject the proposed anti-preaching and hawking bill currently before the National Assembly, saying the legislation does not address the urgent challenges facing Nigerians.
The Christian body argued that the country’s most pressing concerns are insecurity, hunger and economic hardship, not public preaching, and urged the government to focus on issues that directly affect citizens’ welfare.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos after the National Executive Council meeting of the PFN, the organisation’s National Secretary, Bishop David Bakare, described the bill as unnecessary and claimed it appeared to be targeted at Christians.
According to him, Nigeria already has enough laws to regulate public conduct, but the real problem lies in the poor enforcement of existing legislation.
“Many laws already exist in Nigeria which, if properly enforced, can bring sanity to different aspects of our national life. Our concern is that this law is not the urgent need of Nigerians at this time,” Bakare said.
He maintained that introducing another law would not solve the country’s growing security and economic challenges.
Bakare also questioned the decision to classify preaching inside commercial vehicles as a traffic-related offence, arguing that lawmakers should have focused on more pressing road safety issues.
“We cannot understand how this has become a traffic offence in any form. There are other issues that can be considered traffic offences in Nigeria that have not been addressed,” he stated.
The PFN further expressed concern over the legislative process, saying it was unaware of the bill’s current status in the House of Representatives after its passage by the Senate.
The Christian organisation warned that issues relating to religion should be handled carefully to avoid creating unnecessary tension between the government and religious groups.
“Christians in Nigeria consider that law as being against the church. It is deliberately organised to stir up the church against the state,” Bakare said.
He appealed to President Tinubu not to sign the bill into law and instead return it for broader public consultation with religious leaders and other key stakeholders.
“Let the public debate it. Invite the relevant people who are directly affected by such laws to come and discuss it,” he added.
The PFN insisted that the proposed legislation should not be prioritised while millions of Nigerians continue to grapple with insecurity and economic hardship.
