PFN President rejects proposed bus preaching ban, vows to defy law

President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Wale Oke, has criticised the National Assembly over proposed legislation seeking to prohibit preaching in commercial buses, declaring that Christians will continue to evangelise despite the measure.

Oke, who spoke during a church sermon on Sunday, vowed that PFN members would resist any attempt to enforce the provision, insisting that preaching the gospel remained a divine mandate.

He said: “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. 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 cleric also accused lawmakers of focusing on religious preaching instead of tackling insecurity and violent crimes across the country.

“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. 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!

“Those promoting that law, God will cut them off. We will rain curses upon you and your family unless you repent. This law, we will break it,” Oke added.

His comments come amid reactions from Christian leaders over the provision prescribing penalties for people who preach or engage in unsolicited religious activities inside commercial vehicles.

The Senate recently clarified that the prohibition of preaching and hawking inside commercial vehicles was not a new provision introduced by the ongoing amendment to the Federal Road Safety Commission Establishment Act.

According to the Senate, the offences have existed in Nigerian law since 2007.

The clarification followed public criticism after reports that the Senate passed the Federal Road Safety Corps (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which proposes a N50,000 fine for anyone convicted of hawking, trading or preaching inside commercial vehicles.

In a statement by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs in the Office of Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate said the provision had long been contained in the existing FRSC Act and 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 read.

Other prominent Christian clerics have also criticised the purported proscription.

Founder of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr Paul Enenche, argued that evangelism remained a core Christian obligation and warned against policies restricting peaceful gospel preaching in public places.

Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has also maintained that evangelism is central to Christianity and urged believers not to relent in soul-winning despite perceived opposition.

Similarly, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has consistently encouraged Christians to share their faith peacefully and in accordance with biblical injunctions.

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖