Factcheck: Bishop Anthony Adaji denied backing Shettima

At a priestly ordination, Most Rev. Fr. Anthony Adaji, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Idah, refuted claims that he supported a Muslim-Muslim ticket or the selection of Kashim Shettima as Bola Tinubu’s running mate for the APC presidential nomination were untrue.

[keypoints]

• Most Rev. Fr. Anthony Adaji debunks rumours supporting Kashim Shettima
• The photo was shot in November 2017 during the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the creatithe on of Maiduguri Diocese
• The bishops were on a solidarity visit to Shettima over the devastating effect of Boko Haram and to encourage him to keep fighting the plague

[/keypoints]

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A picture of some Catholic bishops in Nigeria, including his Adaji and former governor Kashim Shettima, that has been trending online with the false caption “National Church leaders on a solidarity visit to congratulate Sen. Kashim Shettima on his emergence as APC’s VP Candidate” has been called false, misleading, and nefarious, according to Rev. Fr. Anthony Okoliko, Director of Communication for the Idah Diocese.

The purported photo, which allegedly features Bishop Anthony Adaji of Idah Diocese, was allegedly taken in November 2017 during the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the creation of Maiduguri Diocese, despite the possibility that the information was a ruse to defend the widely criticised decision to elect a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

[quotation name=’Most Rev. Fr. Anthony Adaji’] “The bishop of Maiduguri informed the Governor of the presence of the bishops, and the bishops went in solidarity visit to him over the devastating effect of Boko Haram and to encourage him to keep fighting the plague of insecurity in the state. My bishop (precisely bishop of Idah) that appears there has never gone to Maiduguri since 2017 let alone endorsed Shettima for his emergence as Tinubu’s running mate, same with the other bishops.

“Public Mischievous and Calumnious information, demands a public disclaimer. On behalf of the Diocese, I hereby publicly disown and reject such an embarrassing statement.[/quotation]

Any attempt to turn Nigeria into a one-state religion is illegitimate and would be completely rejected since Nigeria is a secular state, according to the Bishop

Bishop Anthony Adaji emphasised that the Idah Diocese’s residents reject the defamatory, false, deceptive, and damaging material and urged the church to resist any attempt to blackmail their bishop and their faith.

Watch the video below from @Gidi_Traffic;

“@FELASTORY: Bishop Anthony Adaji of #Idah Catholic Diocese denies endorsing #BATSHET2023 in viral photo. Tells Nigerian Christians to “brace themselves to bear witness to Christ” The APC has a hidden agenda to #Islamise the country. @Gidi_Traffic pic.twitter.com/zM6scgdh70

— GIDI (@Gidi_Traffic) July 21, 2022

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