President Muhammadu Buhari and the Spiritual Director of Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Rev Fr Ejike Mbaka, met in Abuja on Monday.
The agenda of the closed-door meeting, which took place at the Presidential Villa, was unclear. The controversial cleric arrived at the State House about noon. He drove in through the security gate in a maroon-coloured BMW car.
Mbaka reportedly wasted no time as he alighted and made straight for Buhari’s office. About the same time that Mbaka came in, a former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, also arrived at the Villa for another meeting with Buhari.
The cleric, after a short meeting with the President, came out and quickly took his exit through the security gate again.
He was said to have hurriedly left before State House correspondents laying in wait for him to find out his mission could make any attempt to ask questions.
Mbaka had supported and predicted Buhari’s victory over former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. But a video of him complaining bitterly that Buhari did not assist his ministry after his victory went viral.
Mbaka had voiced his frustration when the Governor of Kano State, Mr Abdullahi Ganduje, visited the adoration site, apparently to campaign for Buhari’s re-election.
He was heard saying in the video that Buhari could have, at least, helped in funding the completion of the Adoration Ministry project.
He was also seen criticising the vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Peter Obi, in the video, for allegedly not helping his ministry with donations.
His outburst was immediately greeted with condemnation by many Nigerians, who said they felt embarrassed that a cleric would be openly soliciting donations in the manner he did.
Mbaka later apologised for his comments, especially against Obi, admitting that he was human and that his human frailty took the better part of him that day.