CAN ‘didn’t pray’ for Bello’s re-election

 Gbenga Omokhunu and Jennifer Obasuke, Abuja

 

LEADERSHIP of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Thursday refuted claims on social media that its President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, had visited Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to pray for his re-election.

CAN stressed that it was not partisan and couldn’t have identified with any particular candidate or candidates in the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

It, therefore, urged all Christians to come out en mass to exercise their franchise and also advised Nigerians to pray for fair, peaceful and credible elections in the two states.

CAN’s Director, Legal and Public Affairs, Barr. Kwamkur Vondip, in a statement in Abuja, said: “The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has taken notice of a picture of the CAN President, Rev. (Dr.) Samson Ayokunle, Kogi State CAN Chairman and Governor Yahaya Bello, making the rounds in the social media, where it was painted as if the CAN President went to the Governor at this period of electioneering campaign to pray for his re-election into office as Governor of Kogi State.

“Let it be known right away that those behind this cheap propaganda are glaringly mischievous individuals, who do not mean well for the church and Nigeria. They are people without the fear of God, who forgot that God will hold them responsible for every idle/evil word and misleading information they spread about others.

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“For the avoidance of doubt,  Governor Yahaya Bello sometimes in July, 2019 proposed to lay the foundation of the first ever chapel at the Government House so that the Christians in the Government House might have a place of worship just as their Muslim counterparts. The Kogi CAN leadership invited the President of CAN to come and lay the foundation stone of the chapel and this was done to the glory of God, and, of course, special prayers were held at the function for the government of Kogi State. We wonder when it becomes a sin for the President of CAN to lay the foundation of a chapel and pray for government functionaries!

“For any person to bring up the picture at this critical period of elections and paint it as prayers for the re-election of the Governor shows the extent of mischief and desperation by the individuals behind it. We, therefore, debunk this type of blackmail and warn the people behind it to desist from this type of manipulation because God will hold them liable for this evil one day. This information is totally false and misleading.

“We call on all Christians and, indeed, well-meaning Nigerians to disregard any information purported to emanate from CAN on the forthcoming elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.”