Since the announcement of the postponement of the general elections by a week, some clerics and their followers have started boasting that the development is a fulfilment of their prophecies, Punch Metro repiots.
The prophets, in videos posted on their various social media pages and promoted in paid adverts, also claimed that the shift in the election date confirmed that their callings were divine.
Some Nigerians, however, said the men only exploited the weakness in the system to deceive their congregations.
Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministry, a church in Warri, Delta State, made a 12-minute documentary to prove the accuracy of the prophecy of its General Overseer, Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin.
Fufeyin, who reportedly hosted a church programme on February 7, was shown predicting that the election would be postponed.
“I know who will win the election 2019; the presidential election. As a prophet, I don’t have time (to say) who and who will win election. I told you people that on the 16th of February, the presidential election will not hold; they will shift it. The date is going to another date. When they shift the date, know that what Prophet Jeremiah Fufeyin is telling you is true and know you have a prophet among you.
“The supernatural controls the physical. In the supernatural, they have shifted it. That is why I know it and I am seeing it. So, if you hear the election has been shifted, don’t be surprised,” he said in the video.
A church in Apo, Abuja, Shiloh Word Chapel, in a video on its Facebook page, also said the postponement was a fulfilment of its leader’s prophecy.
The head of the church, Prophet I.O. Samuel, in the video that he also posted on his Instagram page, said he saw cancellations and change of dates.
He said, “Nigerians pray for February; I am seeing a lot of cancellation. I am seeing scatter-scatter. Touch your neighbour, say, ‘Pray for Nigeria’. I see cancellation and shifting; change of dates and timing. We are to pray. Nigeria is sitting on gunpowder; thus saith the Lord of host.”
The video ended with a clip of when the Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, announced the postponement of the election.
Also, the Senior Pastor of Restoration Charismatic Ministries, Asaba, Delta State, Prophet Julius Ekweozor, claimed the postponement was a fulfilment of his prophecy.
He reportedly delivered his prophecy during prayers on February 3, when he held a service at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba.
The senior pastor of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleiman, during a crusade in Onitsha, Anambra State, on January 9, was said to have also told his congregation that the election would be shifted.
“Can I surprise you? If we do not pray well, I don’t see election. I saw a date that was shifted. They will give you lies and security reasons,” he said in a video posted on Youtube.
Some Nigerians, who reacted to the videos, said the clerics only made informed guesses.
On Nairaland, a social media platform, a member with the alias, dazzling, said he also expected the postponement.
“… I know more than 100 people that made the same prediction. I personally expected postponement as usual. Nothing special…,” he wrote.
Another user, cidiechat, said the postponement showed that the clerics and their members did not pray well.
A reader with the alias, shrimati, wondered why Nigerians always heard about the prophecies after the events.
On Instagram, one kevmillz_1983 said, “You don’t need a prophet to tell you that a dysfunctional country will do dysfunctional things.”
However, one rendieoma said a true prophet would be known when his prophecies came to pass.