Anglican Church Bans Politicians from Pulpit After Wike’s Outburst

Anglican Church of Nigeria bans politicians from speaking at the pulpit, citing Wike’s recent remarks and vowing to preserve worship from political influence.

The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, has introduced strict guidelines prohibiting politicians and public officials from addressing congregations from the church pulpit during services.

The directive also warns against excessive praise of political figures, citing concerns about the growing use of religious platforms for political propaganda and the potential threat this poses to the sanctity of worship.

The directive was contained in a memo signed by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Most Revd Dr Henry Ndukuba, and reported by Vanguard. The memo reaffirmed the Church’s commitment to maintaining spiritual integrity and non-partisanship in all its activities.

“The Church must diligently avoid speeches, conduct, or events that may incite division or foster political bias within the body of Christ,” the statement said.

Key points in the directive include a ban on church leaders offering public praise or glorification of political personalities, particularly in ways that could damage the Church’s credibility or distract from its spiritual mission.

The Church further emphasized that political figures must be made to understand that places of worship are not platforms for campaign rhetoric or partisan messaging.

“Church leaders and officiants must refrain from making statements or behaving in ways that could be construed as politically aligned or sectional,” the memo added.

It also instructed that the lectern — the designated space for reading Scripture — is not to be used by guests, including politicians and government officials.

However, the Church clarified that political leaders are still welcome to attend services and church programmes, provided they do so respectfully and in line with established spiritual protocols.

Quoting Matthew 5:13–14, the Church stated, “The Church remains committed, under God, to being the light of the world and the salt of the earth.”

The Anglican Communion stressed that it will continue to engage with the government on national issues in a constructive manner, while remaining faithful to its spiritual calling.

The new policy follows public backlash over recent remarks by Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, during a thanksgiving service at St James’ Anglican Church in Asokoro, Abuja.

Wike, who attended the service to celebrate the completion of infrastructure projects, reportedly used the pulpit to make politically loaded comments that drew criticism from civil society and legal professionals.

Human rights lawyer Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor condemned Wike’s comments as a “shameful and sacrilegious outburst,” describing the minister’s conduct as a national disgrace.

“I watched with profound shock and dismay the now-viral video clips capturing yet another appalling display of national disgrace; this time, orchestrated by none other than the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike,” Ejiofor said in a public statement.