Archbishop Leonard Bature Kawas, President-General of the Charismatic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), has defended his group’s recent endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term, insisting the backing was not bought and pointing to his earlier, unpaid support for Peter Obi’s 2023 presidential run as evidence.
Speaking in a television interview alongside the CBCN’s Secretary-General, Archbishop Chianson, Kawas responded to critics who have accused the conference of being politically compromised, arguing that his track record shows his political involvement has never been transactional.
Recalling his support for Obi during the early stages of the then-Labour Party candidate’s presidential ambition, Kawas said he accompanied Obi to campaign events across Nigeria without ever receiving compensation. He said Obi never asked how he had travelled to campaign venues or where he had lodged, and that he personally covered the cost of transporting six clergymen who joined him at various events. Kawas said he was never accused of impropriety during that period, despite the visibility of his support on television.
He posed the criticism as a question to his detractors, asking why backing Tinubu now, a decision he said was guided by prayer should suddenly render him “fake” when similar support for Obi had not.
Kawas also pointed to a longer history of political engagement to push back against the “fake bishop” label, noting he has served as a bishop for 25 years and an archbishop for around 13 to 14 years, with an archbishopric he described as internationally recognised, given his residence in Washington, D.C.
He recalled backing former President Goodluck Jonathan as far back as Jonathan’s time as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, saying he had been among those who predicted Jonathan would eventually reach Abuja a prediction he said was fulfilled when Jonathan became vice-president and later president following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the invocation of the doctrine of necessity. Kawas said he went on to serve on Jonathan’s presidential campaign council.
He further cited his political activity in Taraba State, where he said he campaigned for Reverend Jolly Nyame, who later became governor and appointed him chairman of the state’s Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board.
Kawas also said the CBCN had consistently prayed for political leaders and taken part in political activities since 2010, maintaining that personal interest had never driven the group’s engagement in politics.
Kawas’s remarks come amid criticism from some Nigerians over the CBCN’s recent endorsement of President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election, with some describing the involved clerics as “fake bishops” and suggesting the endorsement may have been politically or financially motivated. Kawas has firmly rejected that characterisation, maintaining that his support for Tinubu, like his earlier backing of Obi and Jonathan, stems from spiritual conviction rather than material inducement.
Kawas was previously associated with Obi’s political rise; in October 2022, he led a delegation of Christian clerics to the Labour Party’s national secretariat to declare support for Obi’s presidential bid, a move that similarly drew accusations of being “fake bishops” at the time allegations he rejected, saying the delegation represented millions of Christians across Nigeria.
The archbishop’s comments add to the broader scrutiny facing religious leaders’ political alignments as Nigeria’s political class continues jostling for position ahead of the 2027 polls, with Tinubu seeking re-election against a field that includes Obi, now of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, and Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress.
