A Reverend father, Kefas Gogwim, has asked his congregants who gathered for celebration of mass to go home if they do not possess Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
In a 2-minute video obtained by AbaCityBlog, the priest could be seen standing and talking to his members outside a church.
Members who showed their PVCs to him were allowed into the church while those who did not have were told to leave.
He said, “From at present, in case you are coming for mass, carry your PVC, should you don’t have your PVC, don’t hassle coming; because there is no point in having Christians fill the church, but during the election, we have only a handful of them go out to vote.
“So, it means our number, our population means nothing. We want Christians to take their responsibility and their role seriously.”
VIDEO: No PVC, No Church Service – Reverend Father Tells Members. Catholic Church Reacts pic.twitter.com/DqWoPn6uO7
— CityBlog (@abacityblog) June 14, 2022
However, reacting to the video in a statement on Monday, the Director of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Pankshin, Rev. Fr. Andrew Danjuma, distanced the church from the Gogwim’s remarks.
The statement titled, ‘Disclaimer from Catholic Diocese of Pankshin’ reads, “The attention of His Lordship, Most Rev. Michael Gobal Gokum, The Catholic church of Pankshin has been drawn to a video in circulation by Rev. Fr. Kefas Gogwim , in which he prevented some Catholic worshippers from attending Mass because they did not have their voters cards with them.
“The action of this priest did not have the approval of the Bishop neither is it the policy of the Diocese. Hence, the Diocese disassociates itself from this video in circulation and regrets the unfortunate incident, much as parishioners are encouraged to obtain their PVCs to exercise their civic duties.”
In a related development, another video has been spotted online in which a priest was caught on camera telling his congregants that if they did not have PVCs, they would not partake in communion.
Recently, there has been a clamour by religious leaders to ensure their congregations register in the ongoing continuous voter registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in order to vote in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
