PFN President Vows to Resist Proposed Ban on Preaching in Commercial Buses
The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Wale Oke, has criticised the proposed legislation seeking to prohibit preaching and unsolicited religious activities in commercial buses, declaring that Christians would continue to evangelise despite the measure.
Oke, who spoke during a church sermon on Sunday, vowed that members of the PFN would resist any attempt to enforce the proposed law, insisting that preaching the gospel remained a divine mandate that could not be overridden by legislation.
The cleric said Christians would continue to preach in buses and other public places, citing the biblical instruction to spread the gospel across the world.
“Make all the stadiums in Nigeria become prisons; if you want to enforce that law, we are coming. We will break that law. Our Master told us to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” Oke said.
“You sit somewhere there, and you are saying we shouldn’t preach in buses. We will preach in buses! We will preach everywhere! Because you are making evil decrees. We will rather obey God than man.”
The PFN president accused lawmakers of prioritising restrictions on religious preaching while failing to adequately address insecurity and violent crimes across the country.
According to him, government authorities should focus on tackling killings, kidnappings, banditry, rape and other criminal activities rather than targeting people preaching what he described as a message of peace and transformation.
“You don’t go after killers; you are not going after those beheading; you are not going after rapists; you are not going after kidnappers. You are not going after bandits who are unlawfully carrying arms,” he said.
“You are going after us who are preaching the message of peace that changes people’s lives. We wouldn’t listen to you. You are not God.”
Oke also issued a strong warning to those promoting the proposed legislation, insisting that the PFN would oppose any attempt to restrict gospel preaching.
His comments come amid growing reactions from Christian leaders over provisions relating to preaching and hawking in commercial vehicles.
The Senate had earlier clarified that the restriction on preaching and hawking inside commercial vehicles was not a new provision introduced under the ongoing amendment to the Federal Road Safety Commission Establishment Act.
The clarification followed public criticism after reports emerged that the Senate passed the Federal Road Safety Corps (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which provides for a N50,000 fine for anyone convicted of hawking, trading or preaching inside a commercial vehicle.
In a statement issued by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs in the Office of the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate said the controversial provisions had existed in Nigerian law since 2007 and were already contained in the existing FRSC Act and the National Road Traffic Regulations.
“The Senate has duly noticed public concerns on the purported proscription of preaching and hawking in a commercial vehicle under the ongoing amendment to the Federal Road Safety Commission (Establishment) Act, No. 22, 2007,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, several prominent Christian clerics have also expressed concerns over the proposed restriction.
The founder of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr Paul Enenche, has maintained that evangelism is a core Christian obligation and warned against policies that could restrict peaceful gospel preaching in public places.
Similarly, the Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has repeatedly described evangelism as central to the Christian faith and urged believers to remain committed to soul-winning despite perceived opposition.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has also consistently encouraged Christians to share their faith peacefully and in line with biblical teachings.
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