CAMA: How Christian NASS Members Turned Us Down, Says CAN President

The President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, on Tuesday handed over to the new president of the Nigerian Baptist Convention,  Rev. Israel Akanji.

The handover was done at the inaugural service in honour of Akanji and Prof. ( Emeritus) Adewale Akinsola, who is the President and Director of Medical and Health Services of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, at the Baptist Building, Ibadan.

Ayokunle advised his successor against putting his trust in man while carrying out his divine assignments but said he should rather depend on God.

The CAN president recalled how some Christian lawmakers at the National Assembly subtly turned down the request of the Christian association on the amendment of the Companies and Allied Mattes Act 2020.

He said he raised a committee to go and meet with the Christian legislators but they refused to help. He said they told the committee that they were not sent to the National Assembly by CAN of their churches but their political parties and those who sponsored their campaigns and elections.

Ayokunle said,  “When we wanted the National Assembly members who are Christians to assist us in sponsoring a bill of amendment to CAMA, we set up a committee to go and meet them.

“When they got to them, they told the committee that they are not in the National Assembly because of CAN. They accepted that they are Christians but they said CAN didn’t send them there. They said ‘ we were nominated by our parties, and our sponsors were the ones who gave us money to campaign  and win elections, not CAN.’

“Which means their loyalty is to their political parties and those who sponsored them. And they said again if you want us to help you, we can still help you, we have to lobby and what does lobby means? They said, ‘ only Christians cannot give you what you want, we have to go to those who are not Christians also and before they can support us, there must be an answer in your hand.

“That is how politics is done but not in the house of faith, it will not work. There are some people who will never yield because of the Lord they have placed before them.”

The new NBC president called on the government to ensure there is adequate security all over the country. He said the insecurity in the country was ravaging every part of the country and needed an urgent attention before it’s too late.

Akanji, who is still the  CAN Chairman,  North-Central, said no religion or its injunctions should be imposed on others because such would cause problem.