Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), yesterday clarified that it has not changed its position regarding the same-faith ticket in the forthcoming presidential election in the country.
It said that it was wrong to misconstrue the presence of the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, at the 70th birthday celebration of the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, in Abuja as a sign of recompense and change in CAN’s opposition to Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the 2023 presidential election.
A statement signed by Special Assistant on Media to the CAN President, Mr. Luminous Jannamike, described as untrue and ridiculous the insinuation that the new leadership of CAN might have soft pedaled on the issue of opposition against the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the APC.
The association said that its “attention has been drawn to a media report titled, “How Tinubu Met, Resolved Muslim-Muslim ticket with CAN,” which claimed that the apex Christian pressure group body has changed its position regarding the same-faith ticket.
Jannamike said: “To say the least, the story is ridiculous, malicious, untrue and should be disregarded in its entirety by all reasonable members of the society.”
The CAN said that it took a position against the same-faith ticket imbroglio under the leadership of Rev. Samson Ayokunle, its immediate past national president, adding that his successor, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, still stands on that same position.
It said that even though it might not agree with every decision taken by politicians and political parties, it respects their right to reach conclusions on issues that affect their electoral fortunes so long as they accord with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Electoral Act (2022),
“For the umpteenth time, CAN reiterates that it is non-partisan, but remains willing to partner with all leaders and other relevant stakeholders to achieve unity, peace and progress in our nation.
“Consequently, the umbrella Christian organisation cannot be antagonistic to any well-meaning political party or group as the nation warms up for a fresh round of elections in 2023 as claimed in the said report.
“In the same vein, it strongly condemn the attempt to make a mountain out of molehill with Bola Tinubu’s presence at the 70th birthday celebration of the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, in Abuja, the nation’s capital,” it said.
The CAN said that Kukah’s birthday event was public and that friends of the celebrant and other good-spirited Nigerians donated to the building of The Kukah Centre, which is designed to be a veritable platform to propagate and promote the ideals of democracy and responsible leadership through research and intellectualism.
It added that the donations, which went directly to The Kukah Centre, had nothing to do with CAN.
“It is, therefore, mischievous to insinuate that it was a sort of bribe money for Christian leaders to make a U-turn on its stance against same-faith ticket.
“As a faith-based organisation, CAN maintain that its conscience cannot be bought and its prophetic voice cannot be silenced with money,” it said.
