CAN Rejects CAMA, Says Churches Can’t Be Controlled By Government

CAN Rejects CAMA, Says Churches Can’t Be Controlled By Government CAN President, Rev. Samuel Ayokunle (file photo). The Christian Association of Nigeria wants the Companies and Allied Act, 2020, amended. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has rejected “outrightly” the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on August 7. “The law, to say the least, is unacceptable, ungodly, reprehensible, and an ill-wind that blows no one any good. It is a time bomb waiting to explode,” said a statement by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the Special Assistant on Media and Communications) to CAN President, Rev Dr Samson Ayokunle. CAN’s position is in strong contrast to that of the Presidency which hailed the new law as innovative and “geared toward enhancing the ease of doing business in the country”. In its statement on Thursday, CAN made clear that its grouse was not with efforts by the government to fight corruption but a section of the Act that contained what it said amounted to an attempt to bring churches under government control. “The satanic section of the controversial and ungodly law is Section 839 (1) &(2) which empowers the Commission to suspend trustees of an association (in this case, the church) and appoint the interim managers to manage the affairs of the association for some given reasons,” it said. “While we are not against the government fighting corruption wherever it may be found, we completely reject the idea of bringing the Church, which is technically grouped among the NGOs, under control of the government. The Church cannot be controlled by the government because of its spiritual responsibilities and obligations.” Based on its position, the association expects the federal government to change course and amend the law. It said, “This is why we are calling on the Federal government to stop the implementation of the obnoxious and ungodly law until the religious institutions are exempted from it. “We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently return the law to the National Assembly for immediate amendment. Nigeria should not be compared with any other nation when it comes to the relationship between religious institutions and the government. In Nigeria, people’s religions are tied to their humanity and of course, their life.”