By Love Wilhelmina Abanonave
Public debate has intensified in Ghana over the involvement of religious leaders in politics, following a failed political prophecy by a Ghanaian prophet.
Prophet Bernard El-Bernard Nelson-Eshun had predicted that Kennedy Agyapong would win the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primaries and become the party’s flagbearer. However, the prophecy did not materialise, as Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia emerged victorious.
The prophet later issued a public apology, acknowledging that he was wrong and accepting full responsibility for the declaration. He expressed regret for any disappointment caused and asked for forgiveness from those who trusted his words.
Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, has criticised religious leaders who venture into political prophecies, citing repeated instances of embarrassment and the misuse of spiritual influence.
Mr Nkansah questioned how different religious leaders could claim to receive conflicting revelations from the same God, arguing that such practices blur the line between faith and politics.
“How can the same God reveal different things to different men of God? It’s not good,” he said on GBC’s Focus Today on Tuesday, 4 February 2026.
Mr Nkansah urged religious leaders to focus on preaching and avoid political endorsements, suggesting that electoral predictions should be left to data-driven analysis.
“These prophets should concentrate on preaching the word of God and leave political predictions to the Mussa Dankwas and the pollsters. That is their work, and it is data-driven. As a country, we should take some of these things seriously,” he said.
