The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has said that its position against same-faith presidential ticket cannot be compromised for any reason.
The apex Christian body stated this in reaction to a report making the rounds in some sections of the media which alleged that its leadership had changed its position on the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after meeting with the party’s standard nearer and his campaign team.
In a statement on Monday, CAN urged Nigerians to discountenance the story, describing the report as ridiculous, malicious, and untrue.
According to CAN, though it may not agree with every decision taken by politicians and political parties, but it respects their right to reach and conclusion on issues that affect their electoral fortunes.
The statement reads, “The attention of the leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has been drawn to a media report titled, ‘How Tinubu met, resolved Muslim-Muslim ticket with CAN’, which claimed that the apex Christian body has changed its position regarding the same-faith ticket.
“To say the least, the story is ridiculous, malicious, untrue and should be disregarded in its entirety by all reasonable members of the society.
“For the records, CAN took a position against the same-faith ticket imbroglio under the leadership of Rev. Dr Samson Ayokunle, its immediate past national president, and as a matter of fact, His Eminence Archbishop Daniel Okoh, stands on that same position.
“CAN may not agree with every decision taken by politicians and political parties, but 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 towards achieving 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 condemns the attempt to make a mountain out of molehill with Asiwaju 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.
“The event was public and the 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.
“The donations, which went directly to The Kukah Centre, have nothing to do with CAN. It is therefore mischievous to insinuate 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 maintains that its conscience cannot be bought and its prophetic voice cannot be silenced with money.
“Finally, we call on political parties and their candidates to put the nation first in their considerations and prepare to serve the people with earnestness and humility.”
(Vanguard)
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