The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says its position on the same-faith ticket by the All Progressives Congress (APC) remains unchanged.
The religious body said this on Tuesday after meeting with the presidential candidates of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar; Labour Party, Peter Obi, and their Social Democratic Party, SDP, counterpart, Adewole Adebayo on issues of concern to Christians in the country, ahead of the 2023 elections.
Recall that Tinubu , who is a Muslim, picked another Muslim, Kashim mShettima as his vice presidential candidate of the APC, a development CAN has refused to accept.
However, CAN presented an 11-point demand entitled, ‘Charter for Future Nigeria’ to the presidential candidates which outlined key areas of interest for the good of the common man.
The religious body also added that a holistic amendment of the 1999 Constitution was a necessity for justice, peace, unity, prosperity and progress of the nation.
The body’s President, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, said it is very careful not to be partisan, insisting that its position on same-faith ticket remains same.
In his words, “We have not changed our position (on same-faith ticket). If we want to change any position, we’ll let the Nigerian public know. And so, when people read insinuations in the social media, I will advise that people to come verify, and to be sure that what they see out there is truly the position of CAN.
“This year, CAN has decided to expand this interactive session to include the media and other leaders so that the conversation will be seen to be as open as possible, and that the people will see that there is no secret. There are no secret meetings and there is nothing hidden at all in any conversation.
“We gave two dates and we wrote to all the 18 presidential candidates and we invited all to interactive sessions on November 15 and November 16.
“We are not going to endorse any political party. And we also want to let you know that the Christian Association of Nigeria has taken a stand on several political issues in this country, not for the church alone, but for the well-being of the people and future of our country. And we are not about to change those positions we have taken because it took us a long time to arrive at those positions and decisions.”
