CAN Denies Endorsing Gadzama for NBA Presidency

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

 The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has denied endorsing Chief Joe Gadzama (SAN) for the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

While disowning an earlier statement on the issue, CAN said it only prayed for the best to emerge as the leader of the association. 

In a letter dated July 7, 2022, and signed by the General Secretary of CAN, Joseph Bade Daramola, to the President of the Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria (CLASFON), CAN leadership washed its hands off such endorsement as interpreted from an earlier letter it wrote to the group.

“In reference to the letter addressed to CLASFON on the above subject matter, we write to correct the impression that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has endorsed any sole candidate for the President of NBA because there may be some other contestants in the race. CAN is not and will never be a partisan body.

In a separate statement signed by the Media Assistant to the CAN President, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the association also denied endorsing the senior lawyer.

“We, therefore, write to disabuse the minds of all concerned that this association is not in support of any particular candidate in the race over any candidate,” the letter read in part,” the statement said.

 “We pray for the best to emerge as the leader of this noble association (NBA),” the statement added. 

In a related development, the CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, reiterated the position of the association in remaining neutral in the NBA election in an interview granted to online media. 

“We never took any decision to back any candidate. We have no preferred candidate. All we can do is to pray for the best of the three candidates, who will use the position to serve God and humanity to emerge, Ayokunle said.

The controversy arose when Gadzama paid a courtesy call on the CAN leadership at the last National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Ibadan where he solicited their prayers and moral support for the election.