I am going to suffer because I have no place to lay my head - Fr. Mbaka

Enugu Catholic priest, and founder, Adoration Ministry, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, has said he is going to suffer in his new parish.

Mbaka made the statement after he was moved from the Christ the King Parish, G.R.A, in Enugu metropolis, where he served as parish priest for over 20 years, to Our Lady Parish, in Emene, a suburb of the Coal City.

While handing over to his successor on Saturday, Mbaka said, “I know we are going to suffer, between now and few months to come, I am going to suffer.

“I am going to suffer because I have no place to lay my head; I am going to suffer because I have no place to keep the (Adoration) Ministry’s assets.

“The Adoration Ministry is passing through suffering right now.

“Even though I have accepted it as the will of God – it is the will of God through suffering – it is a mega suffering.

“But however, the grace of God will carry us all – even though some of you may pray that God should remove this thorn from us, the scripture says ‘His grace is sufficient for us, for it it even in your weakness that the power of God is demonstrated.”

It was gathered that Mbaka would move from a duplex, which served as his residence in the old parish, to just a room in the new posting.

The said room is only equipped with a small toilet and a bathroom, as well as a small table and a bed, it was learnt.

Mbaka, who was the parish priest-in-charge at the CKC Parish, G.R.A, will serve as an assistant parish priest in the new parish.

It was also learnt that Mbaka’s transfer was part of a general redeployment of priests by Enugu Catholic Diocese, headed by His Lordship, Bishop Calistus Onaga.

It was equally gathered that the diocese routinely redeploys priests every six years.

But Mbaka, and his massive followers, have linked the development to the anger reportedly expressed by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church over his role in the build-up to the 2015 presidential election, when he condemned former President Goodluck Jonathan in a message entitled ‘From Good Luck to Bad Luck’.

In the message, Mbaka prophesied that Muhammadu Buhari would win the election, and urged his followers and other Nigerians to vote for him.

Buhari eventually won the poll.

Following the election, Mbaka has been accused of engaging in partisan politics after he visited Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and went ahead to allege, in a New Year message, that the President’s opponents were plotting to kill him.

It is widely believed that the leadership of the Catholic Church in Enugu was not comfortable with Mbaka’s activities.