According to sources, the state government, through Ironbar, bribed leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) with N2 million to influence select pastors to use their sermons to dissuade their congregations from joining the #EndBadGovernance protests.... CLICK TO READ THE FULL NEWS HERE▶▶
Emmanuel Ironbar, Chief of Staff to the Cross River State Governor, Bassey Out, has been caught on camera discouraging members of Bible Crusade Christian Ministries in Calabar from participating in the upcoming anti-hunger and anti-misgovernance protests in Nigeria.
According to sources, the state government, through Ironbar, bribed leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) with N2 million to influence select pastors to use their sermons to dissuade their congregations from joining the #EndBadGovernance protests.
The government cited the hijacking of the 2020 #EndSARS protests in some states as a reason to avoid the planned demonstrations, attempting to justify their efforts to suppress dissenting voices.
“After paying Cross River CAN leaders N2 million to share to selected pastors to dissuade protesters on Wednesday, the Chief of Staff to Governor Otu, Mr. Emmanuel Ironbar, went to his Church, Bible Crusade Christian Ministries (BCCM) in Calabar to ask church members not to participate in the August protest,” a source said.
In a video viewed by SaharaReporters on Monday, Chief of Staff Emmanuel Ironbar is seen and heard addressing the church congregation, saying, “I want use this opportunity to tell you that we have heard rumours concerning protest.
“It is a nationwide situation that we can avoid. In Cross River State most importantly, we’re aware of what we suffered four years ago in which we have not recovered from it up till this moment.
“And I want to say that there’s no government that can perform magic in one year. So in Cross River State, I want to plead with us, most especially the youths, please don’t allow yourself to be used by hoodlums whose intention is to loot.”
As Ironbar spoke, the microphone the microphone mysteriously went silent, prompting speculation that the church sound engineer may have deliberately cut off the audio. Nevertheless, Ironbar pressed on, saying, “Our Igbo brothers, please don’t allow our Biafra friends to infiltrate our state again. Please, because you also will suffer more because you are the businessmen we have here.
“Without you, we cannot survive as a state. The moment you allow these people enter here, your shops will be vandalised, your properties will be taken away and our youths who will blindly get involved might end up losing their lives. So please you agree with me that our governor has under one year returned the glory of the state. And we will encourage him by supporting what he is doing.
“On this note, I want to plead with parents – mothers, youths even the young men, please say no to protest.”
Insiders familiar with the state’s politics revealed to SaharaReporters that Ironbar played a role in orchestrating and funding youths during the 2020 #EndSARS protests.
“This same man mobilised and organised youths and shared money to them during the #EndSARS protest,” one of the sources alleged.
The source noted that the government is now using this as a justification to discourage citizens from protesting against misgovernance and airing their grievances about the country’s situation.
Despite efforts to contact Ironbar, he remained unreachable, failing to answer calls or respond to a text message sent by SaharaReporters as of the time this report was filed.
VIDEO: Cross River Governor’s Aide, Emmanuel Ironbar Denounces #EndBadGovernance Protests In Church Amid Allegations of Paying Christian Leaders To Dissuade Supporters pic.twitter.com/w16xcDVhs2
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) July 29, 2024
