As political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, the President of the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso, Prof. Ola Ayankeye, has urged churches to endorse candidates who are God fearing, people oriented and committed to improving the lives of Nigerians.
Ayankeye made the call on Monday during a hybrid press conference held ahead of the 2026 Ministers’ Conference scheduled to take place at the seminary from September 14 to 17.
He said churches should encourage their members to support candidates based on their competence, character and commitment to serving the people, rather than their political party affiliations.
According to him, the Church should no longer remain silent when it comes to encouraging Christians to vote for leaders capable of making life better for the people.
“Churches should endorse candidates who are God-fearing. Churches should endorse candidates who are people-lovers.
“Churches should encourage voting for people who are interested in serving the people, who want to make life bearable for people,” Ayankeye said.
He stressed that such endorsements should not be influenced by whether a candidate belonged to the church or a particular political party.
Ayankeye said the Church should be willing to support a candidate from any political party if the person demonstrated a commitment to serving the people and doing what was right.
“This is not a party matter. It’s not about a particular party,” he said.
He added that churches would not instruct members to reject money offered by politicians during campaigns, but would encourage them to vote according to their conscience and spiritual convictions.
“We are not going to tell our church members not to take money if somebody gives them money. Let the politicians give the money.
“But our people should vote based on their conscience and based on the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Money will go for rice. Vote will go for the right people,” he said.
The seminary president, however, clarified that the Nigerian Baptist Convention does not adopt a collective position for or against a particular political candidate or government.
He explained that the convention’s congregational structure allows individual members to make political decisions according to their conscience and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
“Our convention has no joint position regarding the current government. We do not have such a position as a convention on whether Tinubu is a bad person or a saint,” he said.
Ayankeye also said the 2026 Ministers’ Conference, themed “The Gospel Minister and Ministerial Competence,” was designed to strengthen the effectiveness and competence of gospel ministers amid the country’s economic and security challenges.
He said the conference would examine ministerial competence from different perspectives, with the aim of improving the performance of ministers.
The Chairman of the Planning Committee, Prof. Olusola Ayo-Obiremi, also urged Nigerians to continue praying for the emergence of God-fearing leaders.
