With about one month to the Presidential election of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), a group Christians under the aegis of Patriotic Christian Youths of Nigeria (PCYN),on Sunday raised fears that some persons with questionable characters who were allegedly sponsoring a particular candidate that is close to the Presidency.

Should they succeed, the organisation said the characters with dubious pasts, could hijack the electoral process in CAN.

The organisation therefore accused the Presidency and All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to install its stooge with a view to paving way for the emasculation of Christians and turn the country to an Islamic state.

To perfect its plan, the PCYN claimed that the Presidency has allegedly recruited some fifth columnists to cause division among Christians with a view to to scuttling the electoral process.

The President of PCYN, Evangelist Simon Timothy Nasso, raised the alarm in a statement issued in Abuja, after the 2016 CAN Electoral College primary election in whichDr. SamsonAyokunle,Head of Baptist Churches in Nigeria, emerged candidate of the Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN).

The Special Adviser to the President (Media and Communications), Mr. Femi Adesina, had recently dismissed the allegation when a similar issue was raisedon February 22this year by the National Coordinator of Christ Redeemers Union,Dr. Ebenezer Olusola Abednego,when he argued that“President Muhammadu Buhari does not interfere in the internal affairs of any organisation.”

“It means that some Nigerians don’t know their President. Your President, Muhammadu Buhari, does not interfere in things like that; so, they need to know the person who is their President.

“The people making the allegation can’t insist that they are correct because that is the man for you and Buhari doesn’t interfere in anything. If he doesn’t interfere in state elections where his own party, the APC, is having candidates, how will he interfere in CAN elections? They don’t know their President.”

Find below the text of the press statement issued byEvangelist Simon Timothy Nasso, on behalf of PCYN:

The Patriotic Christian Youth of Nigeria writes to acknowledge and reaffirmtheir commitment and submission tothe supremacy of God over the affairs of men especiallyin regard to the ongoing processes leading to the election of the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

Weappreciate the CAN leadership for their firmstandsto ensure that the agents of manipulation did not succeed in imposing a candidate for theoffice of the President during the primary selection at the Electoral College.

The CAN 2016 Electoral College did their best to produce candidates for the Presidentialelectiondespite fifth columnistsamong them and their attempt to hold the body to ransomon the account of not getting a particular candidate included before the primary.

We wishtocongratulate Rev. Dr SamsonAyokunle,the Head of Baptist Churches in Nigeria for emerging the winner at the primaries followed by Prof.Otuboof the

Organisation of African Instituted Churches (OAIC).God will surely give them wisdom to lead His church in Nigeria as the final process of the election is beenawaited.

Wealsowant to thank respectedChristian leaders,Nigerians and security agencies who refused to be used to create crises and division among the church in Nigeria.

Youwill recall that since the commencement of the election process, we had raised alarm to the fact that a particular candidate is been sponsored by the Government through the influence of the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Though there were denial initiallybut the candidate as you would have witnessedin their last press address, acknowledged the fact that theSGFbeinga member ofECWAchurch has every reason to use his officeand influenceto project and sponsor the particular candidate.

We all know that God is God and He will not share His glory with any man hence the disappointment of the Government sponsored candidatefor not making it to be theTEKAN/ECWABloccandidatenot to even considerhis choice or otherwise in the last primaries atthe CAN Electoral College.

Let us reemphasisthispoint once again to you and the public who wish to know the truth, thatRev. DrJeremiahGadowas never a candidate ofTEKAN/ECWA Blockof CAN. And he was never a candidate ofECWAUnit of the bloc prior to the lastECWAExecutive Council meeting held in Jos,April 13th 2016.

There were pressures both from the public and the Electoral College on CAN leadership to giveTEKAN/ECWAtime to resolve her differences. Twice such opportunities were given and twice the bloc could not resolve her differences after several meetings which were punctuated by attacks from thugs. Thenthe bloc leaderhelplessly wrote to tell CAN that consensus could not be reached and there is no sign that such consensus can be reached before the expiration of the tenure of the present leaders. CAN acts on same by directing the Electoral College to do the needful. Yet some selfish and compromisers want the election to be suspended until their preferred candidate is nominated.

The CAN Constitution is very explicit about the nature of the candidature for the office of the President.Article 14(d) (ii)say;“Four or five candidates as the case may be shall be presented to the Electoral College, one from each constituent group of CAN. Two of the candidates who obtained the highest number of votes from the voting of the Electoral College shall be deemed nominated.”Anybody deceiving the public that beside the vested Government interest, there is any law in CAN that gives rights toGado’scandidature is wrong.

Itisso strangeto notethe level of political manipulationsand attempt toforcefully imposea candidatebefore and during the selection process at theTEKAN/ECWA bloc level.We have observed strangely too the trend of events that accompanied the desperation in search forRev. DrGado’snomination. Thefollowing events are critical to us and we wonder if they were mere coincident or orchestrated for the purpose of achieving the ill motivated goals of DrGadoand his sponsors:

1.Rev. Dr EmmanuelDziggau, theTEKAN/ECWABloc leader was kidnap few days to the date he fixed for the consideration of theTEKAN/ECWAcandidates for the office of the CAN President and was released a day after the secure of the manipulated nomination of Dr.Gado.

2.TheinitialTEKANcandidatefor the election, Dr JeremiahMadibo, President of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ(ERCC) took ill and went into coma for one month while the crises last and recovered immediately when itisclear his issues was not under consideration.

3.The replacedTEKANcandidate Rev. Dr CalebAhima,thePresident of the Christian Reformed Church in Nations (CRCN)was attacked by armed robberson his way from the 23^rdMay, 2016TEKAN/ECWAmeeting where his candidature was to be decided. His SUV and all belongings carried away.

4.The sudden withdrawal and resignation of theTEKAN/ECWABloc secretary, Prof. Samuel W.Kunhiyopwho also is theECWAGeneral Secretaryon issues surrounding the electionspeak volumes.

We understand many Christians and concern Nigerians are worried about the challenges accompanying the electoral process in CAN recently.TheECWA President’scandidature has been so projected and presented as ifECWAis a bloc inCANandTEKAN/ECWAis the only qualified bloc to contest for the election.We as an Association have wondered and tried to ask so many questions too until we came to the understanding thatthe realECWAchurch leadersi.etheECWA Executive members are not considered in the entire process. Our findings is clear that;

i.The caliber of persons behind DrGadointerestis one ofthe major reasons: Most of the personalities behind the candidature are personswith questionablecharacter or persons who have lost touch withCAN activities. For instant,“PastorEchesDivineEches”who parades himself to the world today as a Pastor and in fact claiming to be theTEKAN/ECWABloc youth leaderleading to his addressof theworldpressconference as such,isa person with highly questionable character.A person with long standing criminal record.A person awaiting trial as an armed robber.You may wish to ask“Pastor Divine” to tell you his real name? What took him to Imo Prisonas an inmatebetween23rdFebruary, 1999 and 2^ndMay, 2003with the Prison No: 80/99?It should interest you to know that thetoday’s PastorEchesDivineEchesbeforehis imprisonment in 1999, was known and calledEchezonaEchereodoandat age24 wasalready in prison custody for Armed Robbery. He was never discharged and exoneratedbutrather released on bail while awaiting trial.That this same person with criminal record will be unilaterally ordained by DrGadoas Pastor for the purpose ofthis CANelection is highly disturbing and worrisome. Owing to his criminal background, heliesat randommisleading his church and the public.Claiming in several occasions to be what he is not.EchezonaEchereodo’sordination inECWAis one of the reasons for the crises inECWAfamilytoday.Hisleading of DrGado’s campaign team is also the major reason for the crises in CAN too.

ii.EcheszonaEchereodonow ‘PastorEchesDivineEches’ was never nominated, elected or selected byECWAyouth at any point in time as their leader not to even consider him as the Leader ofTEKAN/ECWAyouth bloc. Just as he wasunilaterallyordained as a Pastor, he was also appointed as the Youth bloc leader of theTEKAN/ECWAbloc. For the avoidance of doubt, thecurrentECWAYouth National President is BarristerChineduNjoku,the immediate past District Youth Leader ofAbainAbiaState, who should be the bloc leader but for the fear of been abruptly remove as the previousECWAYouth leader for fighting the imposition.Evang.ZacsUmaruis theNational President of theTEKANYouth Fellowship. The question now is, how did Divine become the bloc youth leader when he is not in any youth leadership positionin neitherTEKAN, norECWA.?This is an unfounded process in all theEvangelical churches in Nigeriawhere youths leaders emerge through elections within the youths.

iii.The persons likeDanielKadzaithe YOWICAN National Chairmanwho, besides having over 30 petitions against him in National CAN Secretariat questioning his character and integrity still parades himself as a registered Engineer and aHNDgraduate while he is not but yet emerged as theNational Chairman of YOWICAN in a questionableand controversial selection process, is in the fore front ofprojectingthe person and candidature of Dr JeremiahGado.

iiii.TheECWAcandidate who was paraded by those in Government authority did not have or enjoy the support of his church for the purpose of contesting for the election yet he hasmobilisedthe Government to get support.Hence the need to fight to justify his support.

v.While theTEKAN/ECWABloc wasmobilisingto know who was going to represent her in CAN, the political powersthatbehave started calling and making political promises and sometimesthreat. Hence attempting tocoercethe bloc to nominate their candidate even before the process could start.

vi.The political projection of CAN elections along region, tribe and political affiliations by the DrGado’steamdid a great harm to the process. Government and members of the public were deceived that theGovernment candidate is of the North and that the Northern Nigeria is yet to have a President of CAN.Now, for the sake of emphasis; in the church, our elections are not conducted along region and political consideration.

Wewant to tell you that we are much awareof DrJeremiahGado’steamnext line of actions:

a.To insist on getting CAN leadership constitute aCareTakerCommittee (CTC)for the purpose of later buying the members torestart the election process andreintroduce DrGadoas acandidate.We know thisattempt is built out of ignorant and desperation as CTC is alien to CAN Constitution.

b.To approach a court of law for an ex-parteinjunctionfew days to the electionnot for the reason of havingany cause of actionbut to delay the electionsand by implication unnecessaryandignorantly extend the tenure of the current CAN leadership.

c.To use Governmentmachineryto destabilisethe forth coming CAN National Executive Council Meeting where the two selected candidatesby CAN Electoral College will be elected.This will be very unfortunate and we are sure will yield no result in their favor.

d.And that if Government securityagenciesrefuse to support the schemingto close CAN Secretariat, they hope to mobilise thugs as they have always done during all the bloc’s meetingsofTEKAN/ECWAto create a picture of a fighting church.Thisalso will do them no good.

The questionsevery reasonablepersonshould be asking are; is Dr JeremiahGado bornfor CAN leadership?Has there not been election in CAN before him and there will be after him?Whatwill be his gains if he destroys the unity ofthe church to please his pay master? Will he stop being a Christian if he does not become the CAN President?

We call on all Christian to fervently pray against the new trend of Government sponsoring candidate for church elections. Those in authority should know that theirGod’sgivenmandate isnot for the oppression of the church.

We are certain that as God lives, we as Patriotic Christian Youth of Nigeria will do everything possible to ensure a peaceful election in CAN and a harmonious relationship within and outside the church system.

•Photo shows CAN President Ayo Oritsejafor.