The Assistant General Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Apostle Biodun Sanyaolu, on Friday in Abuja, said his acceptance of an offer to serve as the Deputy Coordinator, Stakeholder Relations, in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council was a personal decision that had nothing to do with the apex Christian body.
Sanyaolu also disclosed that he had been a card-carrying member of the APC since 2020, and had also contested for the Ogun Central senatorial ticket in the party’s primaries in May this year.
He spoke while reacting to the controversy that trailed the appearance of the names of about eight CAN officers and members in a “revised list” of the APC presidential campaign council despite the public stance of the Christian body against the same-faith ticket ahead of 2023 elections.
However, Sanyaolu urged the public to place a distinction between his personal life and position in CAN; stressing that he had been active in partisan politics in the past three decades and had served as a Commissioner in Ogun state government between 2003 and 2007.
He said, “It is pertinent for me to state that as a member of CAN and an Apostle of the Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim & Seraphim (ESOCS) Church, I have been in partisan politics for some over three (3) decades.
“I have been involved in politics from the grassroots to state and national level. In the course of my political sojourn I have had cause to be a member of several political parties and lately, the All Progressives Congress (APC). My participation in partisan politics is largely known to the Church, members of the congregation and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
“On the return of democracy, I served in the cabinet of His Excellency Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Governor of Ogun State as an Honourable Commissioner between 2003 and 2007. I was later appointed as the Chairman of the Ogun State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board based on my publicly known religious postures and involvements.
“Even while as a Director in CAN, I was the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Senatorial Flag bearer in the 2019 General Elections where I contested to represent the Ogun Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly. It was shortly after losing that election to Governor Amosun that I was appointed as the Assistant General Secretary (AGS) of the Christian Association of Nigeria after its General Assembly, in November, 2019, the tenure of which will lapse in November, 2023.
“It was while serving as the Assistant General Secretary in 2020 that I moved into the All Progressives Congress (APC) because of the unending internal crisis in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State. Yet again, I obtained the Nomination Form and actually re-contested for the Ogun Central Senatorial District at the Primary Election held in May 2022 on the platform of APC, and on the prompting of CAN that members should be involved in politics.
“My nomination into the PCC came in the estimation and recognition of my several political involvements spanning Thirty (30) years at the national, state and grassroots levels and not on the basis of being an officer of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
“I am not a politician without a second address. I am a Chartered Accountant by profession and a big time farmer, and therefore, I cannot descend so low or trade the name of CAN or any other body for pecuniary gains. It is not in my character and it can never be.
“My nomination into the Tinubu/Shettima 2023 president campaign council list is based on my political involvements rather than CAN.
“Above all, permit me to put on record that my decision to serve in the Tinubu/Shettima 2023 President Campaign Council is a personal decision, which has nothing to do with CAN. At moments like this, we may need to separate the man from the office.” (Saturday Vanguard)
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