Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Patriotic Christian Youths of Nigeria (PYCN) has accused the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, of using “subtle and forceful” means towards ensuring that a particular candidate emerge as the President Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) ahead of the forthcoming election.
The president of the body, Simon Nasso, made this known yesterday in Abuja after its stakeholders meeting, where it frowned at the efforts of some people in government, who he said are bent on making sure that the church election process is deeply politicised.
According to him, “The founders and builders of CAN in the past have very good intentions of uniting Christians in Nigeria. If the structure that the church is expected to shine the light into becomes the body that decides her leadership, then the entire Christians of Nigeria will be in trouble.”
When asked if the president has interest in who becomes the president of CAN, Nasso stated: “We as an organisation can not say the president has interest, but we know very well that his government appointees who are Christians particularly the SGF and his cohorts are seriously having interest over who becomes the next CAN president in Nigeria.
“They are always out disturbing our leaders in CAN about trying to ensure that a particular candidate emerge during the forthcoming CAN election. Whether the president is using him to do it, we as an organisation we don’t know. For now we know that some of the government top appointees are on top of our leaders neck to make sure they bring a particular candidate to become the CAN president,” he noted
Nasso however called on the church leaders to be transparent in handling the election process with deserving sanity and sanctity, stressing that all genuine candidates should be give equal equal and fair treatment at the election.
The Christian body also demanded a stop to the massive killings of innocent Nigerians across the country by the Fulani herdsmen.
He said: “We are concern how some persons are pushing for a law to create grazing zones for Fulani herdsmen while they are busy killing their host communities as if those pushing for the bill have ulterior motive to create easy part for murderers.
“Fulani herdsmen should not be treated as superior; in as much as the cattle farmer treasured their animals , so also the farmers and his farm to other tribes in Nigeria. Nigerian youths cannot continue to watch while innocent lives are waste away for flimsy reasons,” Nasso warned.
