The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has denied endorsing President Muhammadu Buhari, or any contender for the 2019 elections.
President of the association, Dr Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, who said this yesterday, also urged President Buhari to call his Special Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie, to order over her vulgar abuse and other anti-social acts against Nigerians.
Ayokunle said in a statement by his spokesman, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, that a report title, ‘CAN says no vacancy in Aso Rock, endorses Buhari, Oshiomhole’ as published on some online media platforms is not from the Christian body but another organisation.
“After reading the report, we have come to realize that the statement was issued by a political movement, Change Advocates of Nigeria, with the same acronym, CAN. We wish to reiterate here that the Christian body has not endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari or any other presidential aspirant for election. We wish to urge the general public to discountenance the claim because it did not emanate from Christian Association of Nigeria at all.
“CAN recognize the right of political groups to perform their activities and also endorse whoever they deem fit in support of their political aspirations. We wish to therefore disassociate ourselves from the political group making this claim using our acronym ‘CAN’,” he said.
The National Christians leader in another statement condemned Onochie’s description of CAN as ‘CAN of worms’ on her Twitter account.
He lamented that Onochie specialises in the use of vulgar abuse and unprintable names against others with absolute recklessness.
“Onochie had twitted, ‘Prime Minister Theresa May, a Christian, is in a mosque doing what humans go to do in a place of worship. She knows that her God is the same one also called Allah. Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN of worms, Here’s a great lesson in love and godliness, not hatred & anger!’ CAN at first decided not to dignify her recklessness with a response, thinking she may not be speaking for President Muhammadu Buhari, but the failure of the Presidency to call her to order is capable of making us to believe that she is expressing the mind of the Presidency, her employer,” Ayokunle said.
According to him, instead of asking CAN leadership to borrow a leaf from the British Prime Minister, Onochie should have directed her advice to her principal to emulate his British counterpart who gives all the citizens under her watch a sense of belonging and adequate security, irrespective of their religious, ethnic and political persuasions.
