17th August, 2016
The Northern Nigerian Christian Group (NNCG) has called for an end to the “dirty politics” unfolding in the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The group also called for justice and sincerity in the dealings of the association.
The group’s spokesman, Mr Luke Shehu, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Shehu explained that the group was not speaking on behalf of the Northern Nigeria CAN or any state CAN, but seeking to promote justice.
He described the “politics of CAN as dirty and insincere”, following the last presidential election of the association where Rev. Samson Ayokunle emerged as the new president.
“If CAN is truly standing on its aim and objectives that all may be one, the same leaders at that top level will not play dirty politics in CAN,” he added.
The spokesman said that there were intended plans in the association to rig out a contestant from the ECWA/TECAN block, which turned out to be the ECWA President, Rev. Jeremiah Gado.
“There is a constitution in CAN which says in the five blocks, each should have a shot at the presidency.
“We have the ECWA Gen. Sec, Rev. Musa Asake and Rev. Emmanuel Diggau who are today conspiring against ECWA President who is also the Vice Chairman of the ECWA/TECAN block.
“They keep dealing in irregular ways which is unexpected of clergies at their level to deny the ECWA President his chance of contesting for the election,” he said.
Shehu said that the election was reverted from the very day it was to hold just to deprive the ECWA candidate the chance to contest and all efforts made to call on the attention of the leaders were futile.
He also noted that many members were not in attendance during the election.
“The day of the election was changed from Wednesday to Tuesday; some delegates of the Northern Chairmen were not in attendance.
“The Northern Nigeria CAN leaders wrote to the National Secretariat warning them of the implications of going ahead with the elections because there were unsettled issues in the ECWA/TECAN block.
“The Catholic Secretariat also wrote to the CAN Secretariat notifying them about the dangers of going ahead with the elections and yet they insisted.
“We have written a letter to the former CAN President titled ‘Exposing the desperate plot and conspiracy against the TECAN/ECWA candidate for the CAN presidency,” Shehu said.
Reacting to the development, Rev. Yakubu Pam, CAN Chairman of the 19 Northern states, said that they have as church leaders appealed to the group and the issue was been looked into.
“CAN is not divided; every house have their own problem; some groups were aggrieved from the last election.
“Young people have to be patient and wait; there is no big deal about it; we do not need to take our dirty linen outside the church,” Pam said.
Mr Daniel Kadzai, National Chairman, CAN Youth Wing, also called on the group to exercise patience and support the new president to be able to attend to pressing issues.
“I call on the group to work with the new president to move CAN forward; he is a humble man that will listen to anybody.
“I call on youths to be wary of anything that will bring disharmony to the Christendom and make peace with the president,” he said.