The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has recounted his meeting with the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, saying the cleric told him he regularly prayed for him and believed he would triumph.
Sowore said Adeboye also told him that he knew his ways were pure when they met at the church’s national headquarters in Ebute-Metta, Lagos.
The activist disclosed this during an interview on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast, about a week after attending the RCCG’s National Thanksgiving Service.
In a post on X following the service, Sowore had revealed that Adeboye offered to pray for him during a private meeting.
Recounting the encounter during the podcast interview, Sowore said the cleric recognised him and recalled praying for him.
“He said to me, ‘You know, I know you very well, and I pray for you all the time, and I know your ways are pure, and that you will triumph,’” Sowore said.
He explained that he was initially asked to wait near Adeboye’s car after the service but was later informed that the cleric wanted to see him in the church’s vestry.
According to Sowore, their discussion also revisited their first meeting in 1996, when he approached Adeboye for support for a campaign against cultism in Nigerian universities.
The AAC presidential candidate said he visited the cleric after completing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme to seek his backing in addressing the growing problem of cultism on university campuses.
He recalled that Adeboye supported the campaign and instructed that N10,000 be given to him to fund the initiative.
“We used it to go and campaign against cultism,” he said.
Sowore said Adeboye later asked for permission to pray for him during their recent meeting. He accepted the offer but told the cleric he would keep his eyes open during the prayer.
“So he did pray for me, and we stood up, and we laughed,” he said.
When asked whether he had given his life to Christ, Sowore said their conversation did not cover that subject, explaining that he was not involved in organised religion.
“We didn’t have that kind of conversation because giving life to Christ is for people who are into organised religion. I am not into organised religion,” he said.
He added that he did not discuss his presidential ambition with Adeboye, describing the encounter as a personal conversation that was partly prompted by the cleric’s surprise that they had first met three decades earlier.