The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Wale Oke, has declared that Christians across the country will continue preaching in commercial buses despite the proposed legislation seeking to prohibit unsolicited religious preaching in such vehicles.
Speaking during a church sermon on Sunday, Oke criticised the National Assembly over the proposed measure, insisting that evangelism remains a divine mandate that cannot be suspended by any law.
“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 PFN president accused lawmakers of prioritising restrictions on religious preaching instead of confronting Nigeria’s security challenges, including killings, kidnappings and banditry.
“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.
Oke’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 debate intensified after 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.
However, the Senate has since clarified that the prohibition of preaching and hawking in commercial vehicles is not a new provision introduced by the ongoing amendment to the Federal Road Safety Commission (Establishment) Act.
In a statement issued by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs in the Office of the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the upper chamber explained that the offences have existed under the Federal Road Safety Commission (Establishment) Act, No. 22 of 2007, and the 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.
Meanwhile, several prominent Christian clerics have also faulted the proposed enforcement.
Founder of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr Paul Enenche, recently maintained that evangelism remains a core Christian obligation and warned against any policy that seeks to restrict peaceful gospel preaching in public places.
Similarly, the Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has repeatedly emphasised that evangelism is central to the Christian faith, urging believers not to relent in soul-winning despite perceived opposition.
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has also consistently encouraged Christians to continue sharing their faith peacefully and in accordance with biblical injunctions.
