Chris Okotie is the first cerebral pastor in Nigeria to make an apostolic incursion into Nigeria's dirty presidential politics . In 2003 he contested under Justice Party, placing 8th out of 29 candidates with 119,547 votes. Okotie formed FRESH Democratic Party and used the FRESH platform to vie for the presidency of Nigeria in 2007 , netting in 74049 votes, coming 8th among 20 candidates.
Security report and some independent electoral observers believed that the actual figures of the elections shows that Okotie actually got up to a million votes in each occasion but the trio of Olusegun Obasanjo ( former president), Tony Anenih( political henchman) and Maurice Iwu ( electoral umpire) and their agents of votes manipulations were magnanimous enough to allow a percentage of his votes to count , in the infamous electoral system where votes are written in the houses of party chieftains while hapless voters optimistically embark on electoral merry go round in the polling stations. When Okotie failed to win the do or die electoral fraud, a lot of Pentecostal pastors derided him and asked him where his God was.
Chris Okotie is a man of many firsts, both good and not so good. He was the first cerebral personality to embrace Christ in the early eighties. His first album 'I Need Someone' released in 1980 made him the most celebrated Nigerian pop musician. Himself and Jide Obi's album ''Kill Me With Love'' released in 1981 made the duo the most popular young musicians of the eighties. Therefore when news went round that the two law students of University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus are now preaching the Bible, it caused a stir and groups gathered to discuss the evil that had descended on the music industry while the church people rejoiced that Jesus had captured a hell bound soul. At that time parents would prefer a drunkard in the family than a born again, bible believing and bible preaching embarrassment.
His popularity then could be likened to that enjoyed by Tu-Face Idibia, P-Square and D-Banj in contemporary Nigerian music. While Churches and groups like Scripture Union, Assemblies of God Church, Grace of God Mission etc rejoiced at the capture of a hell bent sinner, disco, rock and party lovers cursed the gods that snatched him out of their hands. I could recall vividly how patrons of Palm Beach Hotel and Enugu Guest House night clubs at Uwani area of Enugu were thrown into mourning because' the church rats' have snatches off a music star. He barely finished his law degree programme in University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus and jetted to the US for theological education..Read More
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