Shettima’s Unveiling : ‘It’s Ungodly For APC To Hire Unknown Bishops’- CAN

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), on Thursday accused politicians of the All Progressive Congress of hiring persons to “impersonate” the organization during the unveiling of Kashim Shettima, the vice presidential running mate to Bola Tinubu.

THE WHISTLER earlier reported that some Christian leaders who graced the occasion refused to reveal their identities to our correspondent when approached for interview.

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The development was greeted with mixed reactions on social media.

During the unveiling, Shettima had paid “tributes to the 30 bishops of Christian faith” who attended the ceremony in appreciation of their leadership.

But in a statement, Barrister Joseph Bade Daramola, CAN’s General Secretary, dissociated the association from those who were recognized at the meeting as church leaders, describing them as ‘unknown clerics’ hired by the APC for political motives.

Daramola queried why politicians ignored its advise against fielding presidential candidates and running mates of same religion.

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He wrote: “We are shocked, disappointed and worried about the desperation of some politicians who once claimed Christians do not matter in governance and politics who went to hire some unknown ‘bishops, pastors and priests’ to impersonate the leadership of CAN in their political meeting.

“This is totally unacceptable, reprehensible, unprecedented and ungodly. If they are saying Christians have no electoral values why impersonating them in their meetings?

“We are throwing their principals and sponsors into the court of conscience. These actions of theirs have shown who they are to the public and what they are capable of doing to us all.

“We are asking political parties not to ignore religious sensibilities and sensibilities of the people especially in today’s Nigeria when Christians are becoming endangered species daily. Our quest is within the constitutional requirements and ignoring it is akin to trampling on the Constitution especially the Federal Character Act.

“At the fullness of time, we will direct our members nationwide on how to use their PVCs come 2023.“

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Meanwhile, Bayo Onanuga, director, media and communication of the Tinubu Campaign Organization, described the attacks on the bishops as ‘unwarranted distractions’.

Onanuga maintained that the persons that were gaslighted by a section of the public “are church leaders who genuinely believe that Nigerians must eschew politics of hatred and religious bigotry and rather embrace politics of peace and nation building.”

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