Christians Unfortunate With Current CAN Officials – NCEF

National Christian Elders Forum, NCEF, has said the Nigerian Church is unfortunate with its current group of officials leading the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.

The group, made of 27 Christians above 70 years, said this is a statement entitled: “Rejoinder: CAN has no supervisor” by its Chairman, Elder Solomon Asemota (SAN) in Abuja yesterday.

CAN had earlier described the National Christian Elders Forum, (NCEF) and the Congress of Northern Nigeria Christians (CNNC) as para-Church organisations not recognised by CAN Constitution, saying they had no right to interfere or question its leadership.

In a response, Asemota expressed shock at the statement credited to CAN’s Director of National Issues and Mobilization, Bishop Stephen Adegbite.

He explained that NCEF was a stakeholder in CAN and had the right to demand accountability from its representatives.

The NCEF chairman wondered why anybody would make an issue of a constitutional recognition, arguing: “It is not possible for NCEF that was inaugurated on January 15, 2015 to be in the current CAN Constitution which was signed into effect in 2004. The statement that because NCEF is not in the CAN Constitution and therefore not qualified to make comments on CAN issues is trite and irrelevant.

“NCEF does not agree that it is trying to ‘supervise’ CAN; far from it. The National Christian Elders Forum is stakeholder in CAN and has the right to demand accountability from its representatives. The “immunity clause” that the current CAN officials wish to accord themselves is non-existent”.

According to the Christian Elders group, “the Nigerian Church is very unfortunate with its current group of CAN officials.”

It said the intransigence and unwillingness to accept correction is un-Christian, stressing that even if crime was committed or mistakes were made, the Christian response is to repent and seek forgiveness.

The group added that it is inconceivable that accomplished elders would seek to malign or slander a younger man occupying the office of the President of CAN.