PFN president vows to defy proposed ban on bus preaching

The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Wale Oke, has criticised the National Assembly over the proposed legislation seeking to prohibit preaching 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 law, insisting that preaching the gospel remained a divine mandate.

“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,” he said.

The cleric 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,” he added.

The PFN president’s comments come amid growing reactions from Christian leaders over the proposed legislation, which prescribes penalties for individuals who preach or engage in unsolicited religious activities inside commercial buses.

The Senate recently clarified that the prohibition of preaching and hawking inside commercial vehicles is not a new provision introduced by the ongoing amendment to the Federal Road Safety Commission Establishment Act, insisting that the offences have existed in Nigerian law since 2007.

The clarification followed widespread public criticism as 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 issued on Monday by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs in the Office of the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate said the controversial 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.