The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) president, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, criticizes the National Assembly over reports of a plan to prohibit preaching in commercial buses and taxis across Nigeria. Speaking in a viral video, Oke urges Christians to continue evangelising in public transport and other public spaces, and says the PFN would challenge and resist any such legislation. He warns that enforcement would be difficult, arguing it would effectively involve imprisoning large numbers of Pentecostal believers, and he frames the proposed ban as conflicting with religious instruction to preach the gospel. Oke also accuses lawmakers of focusing on peaceful religious preaching rather than addressing violent crimes such as banditry and kidnapping.
In response to the controversy, the Senate states that restrictions on preaching and hawking inside commercial vehicles are not new and have been part of Nigerian law since 2007 under the Federal Road Safety Commission Establishment Act. The PFN maintains that believers would not comply with the ban and signals potential nationwide mobilization against it.
