Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria threatens to pull out of Can over manipulation of elections

FAITH umbrella group the Christian Association of Nigeria (Can) is facing the threat of a damaging split after reports that the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) is considering pulling out of the body.

 

Can is due to have its elections soon at a convention where controversial incumbent president Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor is due to stand down. However, the run-up to the convention is proving acrimonious as the CSN is considering pulling out following the series of spats that have dogged Can, with legal action looming on several fronts.

 

Pastor Oritsejafor is said to have summoned a meeting of the president-in-council for tomorrow to address the problem posed by the CSN decision. Already, the Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Nigeria or Tarayar Ekklesiyoyin Kristi a Nigeria (Tekan) has filed a lawsuit in Abuja challenging the electoral process.

 

Dr Jeremiah Gado, the Tekan/ Evangelical Church of West Africa (Ecwa) presidential candidate, has approached the Abuja High Court saying he was unlawfully denied the right to stand as a candidate in the elections. He is seeking an interim injunction to stop the elections but the court refused to grant the request and asked that the parties be  put on notice and served to enable them appear before it on Tuesday.

 

So far, the electoral college has screened the only two presidential candidates it has approved Reverend Samson Olasupo Ayokunle of the Baptist Convention and Professor Joseph Otubu of the Organisation of African Instituted Churches. Headed by the chaplain of the Aso Rock Villa Chapel, Reverend William Okoye, the electoral college is now expected to screen the nominated candidates and recommend two of them for the National Executive Council for election.

 

Both the CSN and the Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria/Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, which nominated the outgoing president, did not present candidates for the election. However, the CSN, has  threatened to severe its relationship with Can unless the  impasse is resolved and adequate opportunity is given to every candidate who had indicated an interest in the presidential contest.