The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has denied endorsing President Muhammadu Buhari, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or any of the presidential candidates of the registered political parties for the 2019 general elections.
The president of CAN, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, in a statement signed by his spokesman, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, on Thursday, said that a media report that the association endorsed President Buhari was untrue.
According to him, the CAN had met with some 14 presidential candidates in Abuja adding that there was nothing like endorsement, either before, during or after the parley.
“At the tail end of the programme, the CAN President, Rev. Dr. Samson Ayokunle, who briefed the press, did not say any of the candidates has been endorsed.
“The motive (of the meeting) was not to take for granted the 2019 elections. Nigeria will depend on next year’s presidential election. That is, how free and fair it is going to be.
“So, we decided to reach out to the presidential candidates to ask them their credentials for aspiring to the highest office in the land and also, to interrogate their plans for all, including the church. We also brought them together to speak to their consciences so that they don’t set this nation on fire,” he said.
He quoted Ayokunle as saying that: “We are going to draw our conclusion after we have finished our interviews”, when asked of the outcome of the parley.
“So, where did His Eminence (Ayokunle) inform these mischief makers that CAN has endorsed President Buhari for a second term? We appeal to members of the public to beware of those who are fabricating this fake news for whatever reasons.
“We challenge the online platform that published this fake news to provide relevant footages and audio clip to back up their report,” Oladeji said.
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