The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has rejected the proposed Federal Road Safety Corps amendment bill seeking to prohibit preaching and hawking in commercial buses, describing it as an infringement on constitutional rights to freedom of expression and religion, and urged President Bola Tinubu to decline assent and return the bill for wider consultation.

At a press conference following its national executive meeting in Lagos, National Secretary Bishop David Bakare said the fellowship supports efforts to improve road safety but believes the bill unfairly targets Christians, since bus preaching is predominantly a Christian practice, questioning why lawmakers who rarely use commercial vehicles would consider such preaching a traffic distraction. He warned that legislation perceived as targeting a specific religious group could deepen tensions ahead of the 2027 general elections, and urged the president to set the bill aside for broader consultation. Fellowship Treasurer Sam Aboyeji criticized the proposed ban on bus hawking separately, arguing it reflects a lack of understanding of the economic hardship driving many Nigerians into such trade rather than by choice, saying the practice is an indicator of poverty rather than preference, and urged lawmakers to instead focus on policies that ease hardship rather than penalize those already struggling economically