A group of pastors under the aegis of Some Concerned Christian Forum of Nigeria (SCFN) has issued a 7-day notice to the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Rev. Samson Olasupo Ayokunle and his executives to resign.
The coalition of pastors gave the marching order to Rev Ayokunle, on Tuesday through their leader, Rev. Prince Thompson,even as they called on him to hand over the association to an interim committee to run its affairs pending when a new election will be conducted.
The statement reads in part,โOur demand entails that the entire CAN Executive resigns with the President to allow the association replace them with a leadership that will chart a course that conforms with the ideology upon which CAN was foundedโ.
โThe Concerned Christian Forum of Nigeria, therefore, demands the immediate resignation of Reverend Supo Ayokunle as CAN President.
โIf the rejected CAN executive is at a loss as to why it has to go, it only needs to look to the existence of our forum.
โHad CAN pursued the agenda of uniting Christians across the various sects, denominations, and persuasions, we would not have need to form this group pressure the leaders into doing the needful.
โWe give the Reverend Supo Ayokunle executive seven days from today to hand over the affairs of the association to an interim committee to run its affairs pending when a new election will be conductedโ Revealed Thompson said.
The group comprising clergymen across the country expressed dissatisfaction over the direction the Church is aimlessly drifting towards, noting that the CANโs leadership under Ayokunle, was highly anticipated to be reformists enough to return the association to its lost glory.
โOur hope in Reverend Ayokunle being able to deliver CAN from the shackles of materialism have been dashed.
โOn top of whatever we, at that time, accused the Pastor Oritsejafor leadership of, Reverend Ayokunleโs tenure has visited the affliction on Christendom a thousand folds.
โNot only did he continue to desecrate the divine mandate of the association by deploying it as an arm of a political party, he has added the evil of hatred by actively promoting Islamophobia.
โA situation where President of CAN has become a tool in the hands of politicians and champion for ethnic-sectarian bigots in the country is a border that should never have been crossed but that is precisely where Christianity in Nigeria is now campedโ the coalition of pastors stated.
